


Kurama Sensei

by DetsellaMorningdew



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:41:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 53,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27550933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetsellaMorningdew/pseuds/DetsellaMorningdew
Summary: Kurama is sent back in time to right after he was released from Obito's Sharingan. He lashes out, and kills Naruto's parents once again without thinking. With no additional time, Minato is forced to seal the full Kurama inside of Naruto. Horrified at what he what he was about to do, Kurama decides to make up for his mistake in the only way he knows how. With a lot of complaining.Naruto grows up with his own internal teacher, and despite his harsh nature, is someone who genuinely cares for his well-being. But this new teacher is not infallible, and his mistakes may cost them both everything.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It has come to my attention that due to the similarities this fanfic has to Naruto canon, I should outright mention that many things will be either changed to what I feel fixes several minor plotholes, and additionally, there might be a few calls I make that are either disputed or pure headcanon on my part. Despite similarities, this should likely be considered AU.
> 
> That said, I am receptive to criticism, and if anyone has something they want to bring to me (other than "that isn't how things are supposed to work"), I am happy to hear it. (Also, if someone believes there is a mistake rather than a purposeful change, let me know as well. While I reference Naruto material often, I am not perfect, and have only fully watched the series from start to finish once.)
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Kurama was not a being that most would consider slow. Powerful? Yeah, sure. Arrogant? He could probably give Orochimaru a run for his money. But despite his fondness for chakra bombs that could level mountains, or just, you know, _sitting on people_ , he really knew his way around a battlefield, and could be surprisingly tricky. If something caught his attention, his focus was instant, laser-like, and –

...Okay, maybe he was a little hard to wake up.

This time, though, waking up was a little stranger than usual. He didn't seem to be in a sewer, for one. Also, he didn't seem to be laying down.

 _Did Naruto switch with me? I hope he knows I actually don't know that many ninjutsu. And what's the deal with not telling me before doing something this_ stupid _?_

_...Okay, that was likely the exact reason he didn't tell me. Just exactly is going through your head, you stupid brat-_

His head crashed into the ground. It wasn't particularly gentle.

 _Naruto? What the_ hell _are you doing in there? I was asleep? What's going on?_

Bindings tightened around him. Hard enough where he could actually feel that they were chains through his fur.

Kurama growled. This was getting nowhere fast. Worse, he didn't even need to open his eyes to know that there was more than one being right in front of him that hated him with immense passion.

Or Naruto. It was hard to tell. Lots of people tended to not distinguish them, which was annoying as hell.

 _As long as it isn't those damn Uchiha. I hate those stupid control freaks, and I don't want to hear a_ word _of it, Naruto._

Still, he got no response from his… well, Kurama would have once called him a warden, but after he removed the seal, and, well, trusted him a little more than was probably wise, the only thing keeping him actually bound was that he really didn't want to kill the kid. Especially after Naruto stopped taking his chakra without asking.

So maybe friend really was the correct term, as much as he wanted to gag when thinking about it.

These two sources of hatred in front of him... They certainly didn't move like they were at full battle strength, so it was unlikely that Naruto just decided to mess with him and make him fight instead. But something was _definitely_ up with Naruto right now. He usually responded right away.

Based on the chains, which were uncomfortably familiar, his enemy probably had talent with sealing.

He growled again.

_If those bastards sealed Naruto…_

Well, they certainly weren't going to get the same treatment as his friend.

He didn't open his eyes. He didn't even try to stand up, to break the chains that were binding him, even though they didn't even feel like they were close to the magnitude really needed to seal him.

No, why would he give away an advantage like that?

Especially when they decided to line up so perfectly like that?

* * *

Minato was confused.

The sensation was not totally unfamiliar to him, as his wife caused this state frequently. But battle was always a different matter. He always knew what to do. But not now.

The Kyuubi had simply… stopped. He had broken that man's control over the beast a minute prior, and all that it had done was close its eyes. This wasn't anything close to normal behavior.

It barely reacted to Kushina's chains, either, which was completely baffling.

Yet that was no reason not to take advantage of the strange situation.

The unfortunate truth to the matter, the truth that Minato did not want to admit, was that Kushina would likely die soon.

It was really rather simple. She was a Jinchuuriki, and her biju had been extracted.

While it should have been possible to re-seal the creature, especially bound as it was, Kushina was already deathly low on chakra, and would be immediately overwhelmed. Not to mention that his own chakra was low enough after teleporting several biju bombs. In order to seal the Kyuubi away completely… well, he would need her help, making the situation only worse.

The beasts were beings of chakra, though. Perhaps if he were only to seal the beast in _parts…_

The attack came quickly. Too quickly, compared to all the other attacks he had defended against previously.

On reflection, he was actually unsure whether his body's refusal to move was the result of genuine surprise, or his subconscious realizing that _Naruto_ was directly behind him, and would have easily been caught by the attack.

But that was irrelevant at the moment. He no longer had the time for three seals. He barely had time for one.

"Kushina?"

She tensed behind him. "Of course."

The beast seemed to freeze. The pressure of the Kyuubi's immense claw through their bodies ceased, and even Kushina's chains seemed to settle oddly on the creature's fur.

Its eyes were open for the first time, and Minato almost faltered.

Kushina's chains shattered as his seal activated, the beast contorting as it flew into Minato's infant son.

Its departure was their death knell, its claws still real enough to tear through the rest of their bodies.

But all he could think about was how strange it looked, for an expression like that to be on a face that evil.

_What could cause such a creature to feel such horror?_

* * *

Kurama found himself once more in a cage, though that was almost irrelevant. He was used to that.

He knew where he was now. He knew _when_ he was now, as impossible as that seemed.

And so, due to his own _stupidity_ , he had cost Naruto his parents once again. He had almost cost Naruto his _life_ , simply because he assumed that malice meant an enemy.

He tried to excuse the error by pointing out to himself that it was a perfectly reasonable assumption to make, given the recent Shinobi alliance and a great many people accepting Naruto, and even himself, as if not a friend, then an ally. Anybody else was trying to literally end the world.

That thought rang hollow when he realized that a simple half second of thought and observation would have meant Naruto could have grown up loved. Grown up as a hero, like the one he had become. Or at the very least, not treated like Kurama was.

But the room was dark, the water was cold, and he would have a long, long time to think on exactly what went wrong. And how he was going to fix it.


	2. Chapter 1

Naruto smiled a lot.

He smiled in the morning, as he looked around his dingy apartment and made cup ramen.

He smiled as he ran through the streets of Konoha, getting his justice in little ways.

And he smiled when he got caught. When someone paid attention to him.

Sometimes, when they smiled back, it even reached his eyes.

Kurama had heard many times from Naruto what his childhood was like. He had even taken advantage of his anger and grief many times in an attempt to wrest as much control as he could.

But back then, he had barely paid attention unless Naruto's emotions were unstable enough for him to take the opportunity.

His anger burned brightly, almost as much as the first time he was here. But the anger was not for his sake this time.

He wanted to destroy the village even more now. Not the village itself, but about 19 out of 20 of the residents he wanted to kill slowly and painfully.

But Naruto had taught him something, before all this. Older, wiser Naruto hadn't tried to get rid of his anger. Not completely, that is. Naruto was angry all the time. But he couldn't just kill everyone that he was mad at, even though he had the power to.

Kurama would have probably ignored him if he had just done his usual "it's wrong" routine. No, he had given a better reason.

The most satisfying revenge was to prove them wrong. Directing the anger to make their entire world, their entire life, turn on its head. Don't destroy the body. Destroy what makes them an enemy. Destroy the hate.

Naruto had done that to him. Done it _for_ him. It had taken a long time, but he… both of them… gained a friend.

Oh, and he totally had permission to gloat about it afterwards. Naruto didn't do that step as often as he should, but Kurama thought it was important, and he _had_ agreed, albeit reluctantly. Even if it was directed at him. He thought it was only fair.

So this time, when he had finally had enough of watching Naruto's rejection and mistreatment, instead of trying to exploiting his anger to try and destroy as much as possible, he… talked.

"Naruto?"

The boy himself didn't seem to hear him. This was to be expected, of course. He didn't know of his unwilling passenger, and had not received any sort of meditation training. This would take time.

He had time.

"Naruto?"

* * *

Naruto smiled, and he didn't know why. There was just something strangely… good about everything.

Of course it was a good prank. All of his pranks were good pranks, even when he got caught. But it didn't feel like the prank. It was like the sun shone just a little better, the air was just a little fresher, and his chest was just a little warmer.

It felt almost like someone wanted him there.

He wasn't even _close_ to Ichiraku Ramen, either.

Perhaps this happiness came from the news he had gotten in the mail earlier today.

He had been accepted into the Academy. He was going to become a ninja. And someday, he would be strong enough to become acknowledged. And someday, he would become Hokage. He would be respected, just like the old man.

Of course, he still had to wait even longer. Lessons wouldn't actually start for three more months, which felt like absolute torture.

So yeah, Naruto didn't really understand why he was so happy all of the sudden.

_«You don't have to wait._ _»_

Naruto froze with his hand on his apartment door, then quickly looked around. There was nobody in sight.

"Hey! Show yourself!"

_«I'm not a ninja, brat. I'm inside you._ _»_

Naruto scrunched up his face. "You aren't making any sense. Only ninja hide themselves."

_«I'm in your head, idiot._ _»_

"Oh. I uh… don't get it. Am I going crazy? Should I go to the hospital?"

_«I_ _f you were actually crazy, why would you ask the voice in your head for help? It doesn't matter anyway. You aren't crazy, unless you count the normal Naruto brand of crazy. I'm sealed inside you._ _»_

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I don't understand, but… what do you want with me, anyway?"

_«Kit… I want you to become Hokage._ _»_

"W-what?"

_«But you'll need a lot more than just the stuff you learn at the Academy. There are no shortcuts, and it will be hard work. You need to be more than a ninja. You need to be an exceptional one. So I'm going to make you one._ _»_

"Who are you? Why are you doing this for me?"

The voice was silent for a while, and Naruto started to open his front door again, but the response stopped him again.

_«An apology. A promise. Perhaps a returned favor. Pick whatever you feel like._ _»_

Naruto closed the door behind him, still clearly confused.

_«My name is Kurama._ _»_

"Kurama." The boy sounded out the word carefully. "Thank you, I guess."

_«Don't thank me just yet. You have a long day tomorrow._ _»_

* * *

Kurama hadn't spoken to him for the rest of the evening, and Naruto soon forgot of his weird new head-sensei.

By the time he had actually woken up the next day, Naruto had shrugged the whole thing off, far more invested in planning his next series of pranks.

...And waking up. He was almost as bad as Kurama when it came to mornings.

And he still had to eat breakfast.

_«Kit, you're not eating cup ramen for breakfast._ _»_

Naruto jumped, slamming his head against the open cabinet.

"Ow. Owowow." He ducked down, rubbing at the sore spot.

Apparently the conversation yesterday _wasn't_ just a weird dream.

Naruto registered what he had actually said.

"Hey! Ramen is the best!"

Kurama grunted. _«_ _Debatable. That Ichiraku Ramen place might be okay, Naruto, but that cup ramen crap is not. You need food with nutrients. Food with energy._ _»_

Naruto looked distinctly offended. "Ramen has _plent_ _y_ of energy!" He looked back down at the cup in his hand. "Well, maybe this stuff doesn't quite taste _as_ good, but still..."

He shuffled his feet. "I can't afford to go to out to eat _every_ day."

The implied statement was not lost on Kurama. No other merchant let Naruto anywhere near their shops. Even the few that tolerated him clearly overcharged for their products.

But to Kurama, there was a very simple solution.

_«Then it's time you learned to get your_ own _breakfast. Grab a kunai._ _»_

"...Um, Kurama-sensei? I don't think my practice kunai are going to be very useful." He had bought all sorts of equipment as soon as he had heard of his acceptance into the Academy, but battle-ready tools were not something most shopkeepers would sell to most any Academy student, not without permission from their instructor.

And that wasn't even accounting for everyone's utter disdain for Naruto in particular.

_«Easily fixed. Go to the training grounds._ _»_

Naruto rolled his eyes, but grabbed his keys and made his way outside.

He had barely locked the door and started out in the direction of the Academy before Kurama stopped him.

_«Not those grounds, idiot. You're only going to find_ sharp _kunai on the actual, graduated shinobi training grounds._ _»_

"How was I supposed to know that's what I was looking for? I thought I was just gonna ask for a sharp one or something."

_«Brat. You're going to look for a discarded one._ _»_

Naruto growled. "Fine. Are you gonna tell me why we're looking for one that's no good anymore, or are you just gonna make me guess? I don't even know why I'm listening to you in the first place! You say you're going to help me be Hokage, but I'm already gonna do that!

"You say I can't eat ramen anymore, call me an idiot just like everybody else, and then just tell me stuff without explaining anything!"

The voice was silent, and so Naruto ran on seemingly alone.

He briefly wondered how mad the weird voice actually was. Even though this Kurama was even less polite than he was, there was something in the voice that he had only heard in old man Hokage. Naruto knew that he was obviously in the right, but an odd sense of guilt settled around him for a reason he couldn't comprehend.

So when the voice actually returned, he jumped slightly.

_«Perhaps you should not listen to me._ _»_

He almost skidded to a stop in the middle of the street, but had just enough of a mind to duck into an alleyway instead.

"What? Why?"

_«I'm not a ninja._ _»_

"Okay, but you said you were gonna make me one."

_«I'm not human._ _»_

"Well duh. That would be really weird. I don't think another human could _fit_ in my head, unless they were really, really tiny."

_«Shut up! I wasn't finished._ _»_

Naruto closed his mouth.

_«I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune._ _»_

"The what?"

The growl in his head was almost deafening, and actually kinda hurt. _«_ _Naruto! I attacked Konoha! I killed hundreds!_ _»_

_«I killed your parents._ _»_

Naruto's stomach lurched. He grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pressing his fist hard against his chest. "What? I… why? No..."

He stumbled into the wall, sliding down to sit roughly on the ground.

_«Naruto, lift up your shirt._ _»_

He didn't, but already knew what was there. It was that weird tattoo. He didn't know where it came from, and never really questioned why it was there, but somehow it seemed more important now.

_«That is me. The previous Hokage gave up his life to seal me into you, to save the village._ _»_

Naruto did not know about this yet. It would be taught at the Academy, and even then, Naruto would only have paid attention to what sounded interesting.

Naruto looked up from the ground, staring vaguely up at the sky. "You uh… don't seem very happy about it."

That was not what Kurama was expecting. _«_ _It is a natural consequence of my actions. I no longer resent my prison, though it does get boring._ _»_

Naruto blinked in confusion for a few seconds. "Oh! No, that's not what I meant at all. I meant attacking the village and… stuff. You sounded sad."

_«...I suppose. More angry that I made the same mistake twice._ _»_

He braced his hands against the alley wall, pushing himself to his feet. "And you still want to make me an awesome ninja, right?"

_«...Yes._ _»_

"Then you don't have to say anything else, y'know!"

And with that, he started to run.


	3. Chapter 2

Naruto stared at the dead rabbit, kunai in hand. The knife itself was chipped in places, and probably not battle-ready, but it was still sharp. Sharp enough to kill a rabbit.

But at this point, he was kinda unsure what to do with it.

_«Eat it, idiot.»_

Naruto looked at the rabbit dubiously. "But, there's, like, blood everywhere. I don't think I'm supposed to eat blood and stuff."

The fox in his stomach scoffed. _«Never was a problem for me. But if you're that squeamish, just cut a bigger hole and let the blood drain out. Pretty simple.»_

Naruto hesitated.

_«Damn it, kit! Do you want to be a ninja or not? It's just blood. Shinobi deal with blood all the time.»_

He dragged the kunai across, letting a lot more blood spill out.

_«Good job. Now just wait a few minutes, and you can eat some breakfast.»_

Naruto glanced at his stomach. "Shouldn't I cook it or something?"

_«Eh, don't bother. Cooking only affects taste, and I've always preferred raw. Besides, if you're looking to become a ninja, fires only make it easy for the enemy to find you. It's a dead giveaway.»_

He glanced back at the rabbit. "...Okay then."

* * *

Rabbit wasn't all that bad, Naruto decided. It wasn't as good as ramen, naturally, but it wasn't bad. A little bland, but a lot more filling than instant ramen.

And his new sensei assured him that he would actually get hungry less often. Which if it was true, would be awesome.

Also, it was free. Meaning it was even less expensive than the instant ramen he got from the grocery. The only real bad thing is that it was _hard_ to catch a rabbit. It had taken him almost two hours to finally catch one.

But apparently that was just part of training. If he couldn't catch a rabbit, he wasn't nearly good enough to be a ninja.

That's what sensei had said, at least. But Naruto knew better. He really meant that when he got better at being a ninja, getting food would be a lot easier.

So he had a much more upfront motivation for training.

Speaking of training… "Senseeei, when are you gonna teach me cool jutsu?"

_«I don't have hands to do any handseals. So I never really paid attention to ninjutsu. And genjutsu is particularly… distasteful to me.»_

"Whaaat? I'm not gonna learn _anything_ cool?"

_«Training your body is equally important. Same with learning to use weapons properly. Besides, your Academy teacher will show you ninjutsu.»_

Naruto's shoulders sagged. "I'm not complaining… I understand that this stuff is important, but… you really can't teach me anything else?"

_«Why bother to pay attention if you can't even use it?»_

He rubbed the back of his head. "I guess so. It just sucks."

_«Though… I did pay attention to a style I never expected to be able to take advantage of.»_

Naruto's head snapped up.

_«Fuuinjutsu»_

"Sealing jutsu? What's that?"

_«It's what traps me inside you.»_

Naruto made a face. "I don't think I want to know how to do _that_."

_«It is very useful to defeat an opponent who is stronger than you.»_

"Then I'll just train to be stronger!"

Naruto heard a deep sigh from inside him. _«You will not always get the chance. Regardless, that is not the only thing that fuuinjutsu are used for. Some lower level techniques include sealing equipment and supplies in a scroll for ease of travel and producing explosive tags.»_

Naruto's focus sharpened. The explosives interested him regardless, but his sensei's insistence on him carrying supplies for _every_ scenario was a large contributing factor for his constant soreness during training.

_«And as you get better, it is possible to entrap and immobilize targets for easy retrieval or… disposal.»_

Naruto translated that into 'new prank opportunities' and 'easy hunting.'

_«A true master can do almost whatever his imagination produces.»_

"All right, you've sold me."

_«It is not an easy art. It requires study and precision.»_

Naruto hesitated for all of three seconds. "No, if it's gonna let me do awesome stuff, then I don't care!"

_«All right. Go buy some paper, ink, and a brush. When you can say that each of your letters are exactly the same as the last, wake me up.»_

"...What?"

_«Just do it, moron. Do you want to learn seals or not?»_

Naruto tucked his chipped kunai back into his belt and rubbed his sore muscles. _Well, at least I get a break from the training._

 _I just wish he wasn't an_ ass _about it._

_«I can hear that, you know.»_

Naruto jolted upright. "What!?"

_«I'm sealed inside you. I can hear your thoughts, especially when you practically shout them like that.»_

"...Oh."

_«You don't have to talk to me out loud.»_

"Right."

Naruto walked all the way back to his apartment before he realized that he still needed to buy the supplies.

* * *

"There. I finished." Naruto put the brush down onto his kitchen table, the only table actually suitable enough for writing.

_«Not good enough.»_

Naruto gaped. "What? That's my best writing yet!"

 _«Good writing is only half of what I wanted. It needs to be_ consistent _. If you can write the same thing twenty times in a row, with only minimal differences, then I will let you advance to the next task.»_

Naruto groaned. "That's _so_ unfair."

_«I am not being any more difficult than necessary. You will not succeed at my next task if you cannot complete this one. Mistakes in sealing often means losing fingers, or worse. I don't want to have to heal your injuries every two minutes.»_

"...Okay, okay. It still sucks."

_«If it makes you feel any better, I believe you are close.»_

He sighed. "I know. It's just… I understand _why_ , but I really wanted something to show before I started the Academy stuff."

Kurama could already tell where this was going. _«You already have something to show off. Why do you think half your day has been physical exercise? Why do you think I've been lecturing you on your hunting skills? Your taijutsu is not unremarkable, and while your stealth could still use some work, you are improving at a steady rate.»_

"I just want something really _cool._ And there's only, like, a month left!"

A month usually felt like an eternity to someone as young as Naruto. And as active as he was, it usually felt even longer. But he was starting to understand just how much time training took, especially when it took this much study.

Naruto could almost feel Kurama-sensei's smile. _«I have no doubt you will. Look at your paper.»_

His hand had been idly writing, almost completely out of habit. Naruto wasn't as observant as his teacher was, but the past fifteen lines looked almost identical.

_«Now you have one final task. Go steal something someone else has written on. You need a handwriting sample for this.»_

Naruto just gave a simple nod and rushed out of his apartment. He was a lot faster than he was a few months ago. Not only was he quite a bit stronger from his training, but Kurama had taught him a few useful techniques.

One was how to find his own chakra. That was pretty easy for Naruto. Less easy was directing it to different parts of his body.

It was all worth it when he realized that he could expel a little with each footstep to push himself forward. Like tiny explosions or something.

And his first attempts really were like small explosions. It took a while for him to not immediately stumble and faceplant, and even longer for the little boosts to be consistent enough to not send him into a wall. But being able to jump really high, and even run along the roofs like the other ninja was _wonderful_. That more than anything made him feel like his dream was closer than ever before.

And of course, it made it just that much easier to escape after a prank.

...As long as he didn't prank other ninja, of course. (Not that he would refrain from doing so if they were being particularly stupid.)

So it meant that as he grabbed a stack of papers from a market stall (owned by an idiot, of course), it was pretty easy to lose any pursuers and make it back to his apartment within a minute.

_«All right, kit. Good job. Now sit down, and copy his style.»_

Naruto frowned. "Why would I do that?" He gasped. "Is this so we can pretend to be that guy and get him in trouble? Sounds awesome. Not sure what that has to do with sealing, though."

He heard a chuckle from his stomach. _«Not exactly. I have no doubt that you'll find great use in this skill. But for sealing? This is just a further test of your ability to copy things precisely. There are more than letters used in sealing, you know.»_

Naruto nodded. "Right, right. I think I get it."

_«After this, I believe you will be ready to make your own explosive tags.»_

"You mean those things they wouldn't let me buy yet?"

_«Exactly.»_

Naruto studied the paper more intensely than he had anything in his life.


	4. Chapter 3

**BOOM**

The training dummy exploded into splinters, which Naruto dodged. He looked back at the three others in a similar state.

It wasn't a terrible loss. The training field was equipped was hundreds of them for this exact purpose.

_«I think we can safely say that you've mastered the exploding seal. At least the basic one.»_

"There are more kinds?"

_«Yes, but you need to know more theory. I thought you were more interested in the storage scroll?»_

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Ah, yeah." While he had bought a pouch for his weapons and materials, he hadn't bought a proper pack for that exact reason, and carrying around everything Kurama insisted he carry was tiresome. All he had was a rough civilian handbag, and he hadn't even bothered to decorate it.

Over the last three months, Kurama had even convinced him that his ninja apparel could use some color correction.

Naruto still couldn't deal with only wearing dark blue and green, but he had been convinced to tone down his bright orange to a dull red that reminded Kurama of his own fur.

Kurama noted with enthusiastic amusement that this had caused many of the adults no small amount of alarm.

Naruto had to admit that this had drastically improved his stealth, and made it a lot easier to hunt in general.

_«Before learning the storage seal, Naruto, I would suggest that you make a few extra explosive seals. I believe fifty will fit into your tool pouch with relative ease.»_

This wasn't nearly as dangerous as most civilians assumed. As with all sealing techniques, they had to be "armed" with chakra before use. And then activated. Explosive seals required quite a lot of chakra to arm if they were to be any use in combat. Even after activation, this particular version of the seal had a three second fuse.

Naruto had no trouble with the chakra part of things, unlike other ninja who might need to use the explosives, but actually making new ones in combat was not an option.

He wasn't exactly a _fast_ writer. Not when he had to be that precise.

Naruto sighed. "All right, sensei. That's going to take _ages_ , though."

 _«I'm sure you can finish before class begins_ _tomorrow._ Can't _you?»_

Naruto rolled his eyes. "All right, sensei."

 _«Don't you use that tone with me. If you want to use any of the advanced techniques, you_ need _to get faster.»_

"I just wish I could have more _time_ before I start."

_«Don't you want to learn ninjutsu?»_

He grumbled. "I do." He shook the bag by his side. "I just feel like I should be more prepared. And not drag this clunky thing everywhere."

_«I like that you are thinking of this as a mission. But many more aspiring ninja are less prepared than you. You can bring a bag to class.»_

"And if I'm practicing ninjutsu all the time, will I even get this scroll thing done in time?"

 _«Then you will have to work harder. It will_ not _take you four years to learn it, even with distractions.»_

"Fine."

_«Where is that determination from before? Are you going to be a ninja or not?»_

Naruto shook his head. "Of course I am! I'm going to become Hokage, y'know!" He retracted his fist from the air. "But with all the stuff you keep saying..."

_«I do not tell you the truth to discourage you. I only prepare you for the difficulty.»_

Naruto sighed, his smile relaxing. "Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Kurama fell silent, now significantly more uncomfortable.

_Without me, you'd have a loving family, training from the best ninja in Konoha, and all the recognition you wanted._

* * *

The first day of class was… interesting, to say the least. Naruto never expected that something could be both exciting and boring.

Okay, he hadn't expected for that particular feeling to extend to something other than fuuinjutsu.

Iruka-sensei was… well, he was startlingly similar to Kurama-sensei. He acted plenty nice when teaching, but fall asleep in class _once…_

Well, long story short, he had _two_ teachers yelling at him at the same time. Kurama had told him that this math stuff was important too, but without Kurama constantly rephrasing stuff in the textbook or the lecture, all it would do was make his brain feel fuzzy.

The forehead leaf thing was exciting because he got to tell Iruka that he already knew how to do it, but frustratingly, he wasn't the only student who already knew how to use chakra.

And apparently it was also to teach focus and concentration. Which was boring.

Even worse, Kurama seemed to agree with him, even though last time Kurama made him do this, he stopped really fast and moved onto more interesting stuff almost right away.

But since it _was_ kinda hard to keep the leaf there for a long time, maybe both his sensei had a point.

The "shinobi rules" were also kinda boring. And Kurama said that some of them didn't matter as much, and could be broken, so he didn't see the point.

He really wanted to tell Iruka-sensei this, but then he'd have to explain why, and Kurama always told him that nobody could know about him. Attacking the village was a really serious thing, after all.

But since learning the rules meant he could actually start sparring with other students, he made an effort. Besides, some of the rules were already things that Kurama was trying to teach him.

Though he said them with a lot less confusing words.

Classes stopped well before dark, though, which meant more training time. And infuriatingly, more study, since apparently, sealing objects into things was significantly more complicated than sealing chakra into something, like the exploding tags.

Even more infuriatingly, Kurama wouldn't just let him copy another person's seal, since it was always slightly different based on what you wanted to store. He had to know what each individual symbol did and how it all fit together.

Even what order to write them in mattered for some stupid reason.

He didn't even have that much time to learn it, since Kurama still insisted on doing physical training. And still wouldn't let him eat ramen.

Well, he did let him use up the ramen he still had in his pantry so he could have an easy lunch at the Academy. But the only rest he got was actually sleeping.

 _Okay, maybe the class itself lets me rest a little. My muscles aren't_ that _sore._

_«Exactly.»_

Naruto found it extremely unfair that his sensei could literally tell if he was lying and just trying to get a break.

_«You aren't a very good liar, kit. It's one of the things we need to work on.»_

Having a sensei that could literally read your thoughts was even worse.

_«Whatever you say.»_

The Academy classes were getting better, though. And worse at the same time.

He actually managed to impress Iruka-sensei when it came to the beginner bukijutsu, even though he definitely wasn't the best in the class at throwing stuff. Kurama had to remind him that other students were trained by their families before attending as well.

And even though Iruka criticized his forms, he was almost top of the class in taijutsu.

They still were doing that stupid leaf exercise thing, though they did start teaching about the basics of hand seals and more exciting stuff.

They had more stupid classes like history that Kurama insisted were important, too. Hokage needed to know about a lot of uninteresting stuff. And apparently, he wouldn't be picked even if he was super strong if he couldn't pass any written exams.

Aside from the lesson on the previous Hokage, it was almost the second week of classes before the history class actually got any interesting. He got to learn of the attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

He almost felt embarrassed to hear it secondhand, but it always felt awkward to ask it of his sensei.

The actual attack wasn't told in that much detail, but he learned about the other "tailed beasts" - something Kurama definitely hadn't mentioned.

 _I mean, if_ I _had brothers, I'd probably at least have mentioned them in passing._

_«We aren't on the best of terms, Naruto.»_

_Still._

_...Kurama? Did you know anything about my parents?_

There was a significant pause. _«Did you seriously not notice? One of them was mentioned in this very lesson.»_

Naruto groaned. _Are you seriously going to be like_ this _today?_

 _«I'm only trying to make you_ think _things through like you should. Your father was a sealing master by the name of Minato.»_

Naruto clamped his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from shouting in the middle of class.

_Like the Fourth Hokage?_

Kurama projected an intense feeling of irritation, and Naruto cringed a little. _«I already told you that he sealed me, didn't I?»_

 _No, you just told me the Hokage did. You didn't say_ anything _about my dad._

_«Oh. I… apologize. It's hard to remember what you do and do not know.»_

_...Did you know my mom too?_

_«Not much. Her name was Kushina. Uzumaki, so it is likely that your father learned his sealing arts from her. She has some annoying chakra chains. From what I heard, she was a firebrand, but I don't have much experience with her in particular.»_

_Oh._ Naruto took a deep breath. _Thank you, Kurama._

"Naruto! Pay attention!"

His head whipped up to the front of the class. "Sorry, Iruka-sensei!"

"Now, as I was saying..."

* * *

It was only a matter of time for his behavior to become a little suspicious, though.

Most people tended to avoid him, just like the rest of the village, and Naruto was very used to that, but it was only a matter of time that someone noticed that he spent every recess in the corner with a scroll and ink.

Still, none of the students really cared quite enough to actually approach him. Kiba (the only kid who consistently beat him in taijutsu) looked over quite a few times, but it was Iruka who was the first to actually come over and see what was going on.

"Naruto, I never see you take this many notes in class."

Naruto, who never actually noticed him approach jumped. "Iruka-sensei! Sorry, I should have paid more attention! Um, I guess I could take more notes..."

Iruka put his hand to his forehead, smiling a little. "No, you don't have to, Naruto. You are doing fine when it comes to your tests, despite your little sleeping habit. You're just more of a… physical learner. That's okay." He pointed to Naruto's scroll, where lines of Naruto's oddly-precise handwriting filled almost half the paper already. The letters themselves were rather small. "But I've never seen you write that much before. Are you an author?"

Naruto blushed. While Kurama had told him to keep his sealing skills relatively secret, he also said that telling people like your sensei or the Hokage the truth was important. "Um, no, Iruka-sensei. I'm just trying to make a storage scroll. Like, um, Fuunyu no Jutsu."

Iruka frowned. "That doesn't look much like a storage scroll."

"Yeah, I'm still learning what each little thing does. Then I can store things better and I'm not really confused when I get to the complicated stuff."

Naruto carefully didn't mention his other sensei, Kurama. There were some things only the Hokage was supposed to know.

...If he asked. Basically he just wouldn't lie to him.

_«You're still terrible at lying, kit.»_

Iruka nodded, impressed. While sealing arts weren't necessarily restricted to a certain rank of shinobi, it was… a rare specialization, at least nowadays. The few people who knew what they were doing usually weren't actually full ninja – they made their money creating the basic supplies for everyone else.

It was a difficult art, regardless. Especially without a formal teacher. Naruto was a… good student, if a little unconventional. But he wouldn't have expected him to take an interest in something like this. Especially something as non-"awesome" sounding as a storage scroll.

"Good job, Naruto. If you need help with anything, I can probably find someone with some experience in seals for you to learn from."

At the same time, most people who made the scrolls actually didn't know anything much past the functionality of what they were making.

He just smiled. "That's okay, Iruka-sensei! I have a pretty good source of information, y'know!"

Iruka just shook his head and smiled back. _That's Naruto for you._


	5. Chatper 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something that bothered me when writing this fic: Naruto's failing of the Academy three times in a row in canon doesn't really make sense in context of the fact that Naruto seems to be the same age as Sasuke, Sakura, or literally all his classmates. Unless he somehow was enrolled three years before most other students, which is highly unlikely, even with Hiruzen's probable involvement with his acceptance. Failing does seem likely given his character, but it also makes sense for Mizuki to make his move the first opportunity he can.

The Academy _stunk._

And unfortunately, Kurama knew the reason. He couldn't do anything about it, either, other than just have him train more than he already was.

The problem was that whatever his written exam scores were, and no matter how good he was at taijutsu or bukijutsu, he still couldn't create a proper clone. Due to just how little chakra they required, Naruto couldn't manage to separate the proper amount. He would overcharge the thing and it would either fail to form, or become barely distinguishable as Naruto.

Of course, Kurama knew that in these cases, it was possible to graduate the Academy with special conditions. Rock Lee was one such student. Last time, it was only because Naruto's ability to take a written test was terrible that he never was able to take advantage of this.

But Kurama also knew just how much the Multi Shadow Clone technique suited both Naruto's fighting style, cunning, and massive chakra reserves.

Of course, one method to get this technique would be a very simple talk with the old man Hokage about the situation, an explanation of his chakra and why it would not be dangerous for him to use, and a request to use that technique as a substitute test for graduation. It might take a bit of convincing, but it wouldn't be _too_ difficult.

Kurama wanted to give Naruto a final exam of his own, though. Besides, asking the Hokage directly would likely put suspicion on Naruto for even knowing that the technique existed in the first place.

He really wanted to see if Naruto could actually pull the mission off without detection this time. And if he failed, he would have a pretty good excuse for doing something that would otherwise be _very_ illegal. Mizuki was still a teacher at the academy, a person students were expected to trust.

So when Mizuki approached him with the alternate method, he remained silent in Naruto's stomach and let things play out as they did the first time.

This time… well, the village _didn't_ notice. Naruto passed his stealth test. And now that Kurama was there, talking with him, he had additional advice in completing the jutsu once he actually had it in his hands. Kurama didn't have much experience with ninjutsu in general, but this was Naruto's signature jutsu, even more than the Rasengan. He knew how it worked, inside and out.

They even had enough time to take a look at the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style, just to show Naruto how complex seals could get.

Kurama almost immediately regretted doing this, as it was very difficult to pull him away in time before Mizuki caught him off guard.

And apparently, enough of Kurama's teachings had hammered themselves into Naruto's head that he actually realized that something was wrong with Mizuki when he asked for the scroll.

As it was, shortly after negotiations broke down, a very beaten up Mizuki was carried back to the village by four clones while Naruto ran to report to the Hokage with the actual Scroll of Seals.

And to apologize for stealing it, of course.

Kurama just marveled at just how weak a chuunin could be. Of course, surprise and a good bit of arrogance definitely had something to do with Naruto's victory, both times. But still. He didn't even have to give Naruto any help.

If Naruto didn't have the Eight Trigrams seal eating up his chakra to hold him, it would have been even easier.

Needless to say, the Hokage had been surprised, seeing Naruto _return_ with a forbidden scroll that he didn't even know was taken.

"Jiji! Sorry for borrowing this!" Naruto swung open the glass case (reinforced with seals) and dropped it in with a loud thunk.

Sarutobi Hiruzen just barely stopped himself from spitting tea over all the paperwork on his desk. "What?!"

The case itself was just barely out of his line of sight, given the large stacks of paper all over his desk, but it was still quite a shock.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I thought it was a test, y'know. Mizuki said it was, like another way to graduate!"

Hiruzen stood up rapidly. "Mizuki, you say?"

"Don't worry, I beat him up and stuff. Some of my clones should be here in a bit, unless they find some of those ANBU guys before they get here to give him to."

_Shadow clones. So he already managed to learn a jutsu? Did he find_ _anything else in there_ _in that short amount of time? How long ago did he take the scroll?_

But that wasn't as important. "Naruto? How did you get that scroll in the first place? Did someone help you?"

Naruto just stared at him, confused. "No? I was just quiet and stuff. You looked really busy."

Hiruzen had, of course, felt his presence in the room. Naruto didn't visit as often as before, but he was one of the few that he allowed almost free reign in his office, and he was very used to his presence. He sometimes saw Naruto with his homework occasionally. Every child needed someone to be with every once in a while, even though Hiruzen himself didn't have much time to spare for the boy.

But that wasn't the unusual part. When Naruto was younger, he would take advantage of his inattention all the time to pull pranks. "I meant all the alarms and safeguards. How did you get it out of the case without triggering everything?"

Naruto gave him a sheepish grin. "Oh, um… you might have to reapply a lot of the seals. I uh… broke a lot of them."

He raised an eyebrow. "Without triggering the alarms?"

Naruto just nodded. "I've been learning a lot about what all the symbols and stuff mean, and how to not make things explode. I still don't know what half of them did, but I thought I'd give it a try, y'know? See if I could figure it out?"

Unlike Iruka, the Hokage knew the specializations of all the shinobi in his village. And while it was heartwarming to know that Naruto was following in the footsteps of his parents, even accidentally, and apparently his instincts for the art were quite good, the only seal master still alive, Jiraiya, was not currently in the village.

"Naruto, where have you been learning seals?"

Naruto's heart dropped into his stomach. This was the one person that Kurama told him that he should tell the truth to if asked, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

"Kurama-sensei, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen paused. Not at the name, though he did not recognize it, which was a problem in itself. But Naruto hadn't actually called him "Hokage-sama" for years. Maybe ever. Naruto felt guilty about something.

His thoughts firmly on the subject of Mizuki's betrayal, he asked the question. "Who is he? Does he live in the village?"

In answer, Naruto just pointed at his stomach in silence. Directly at the Eight Trigrams Seal under his shirt.

He very carefully set his tea back on its saucer. "What?" Hiruzen asked calmly.

Naruto still felt the tension regardless, and immediately was on the defensive. "I know he attacked the village and stuff, but he's a lot different now! And uh… nicer? Ummm… well, he's at least nice to me, y'know?"

Hiruzen wasn't entirely sure what to think. An angry and raging Kyuubi was to be expected. A Kyuubi bent on turning Naruto against the village was everything he feared, though he took solace in the notion that it was unlikely for Naruto to be old enough for the beast to make contact. A Kyuubi that was acting nice in that same effort was even less likely, but infinitely more dangerous.

A Kyuubi that was not only trying to be friendly with Naruto, but teaching him the very thing that locked it away to begin with? Teaching him a name that even _he_ hadn't heard? Of course, the name could be fake, but it was still… alarming.

And yet Naruto knew that it was indeed the Kyuubi, and that it had attacked the village on the day he was born. Perhaps even who died in the attack, based on the odd expression on his face. It didn't make sense even for a schemer like the fox.

He had a healthy fear now, even more than before. He was fairly certain he could no longer count on anything he could have planned in advance. He had no idea how the fox would behave anymore.

Though it did not take him long to formulate his next question, and his next test. At least Naruto still seemed to trust him in particular.

"About your sealing… what is it that you want to learn? What is your goal?"

He had watched Naruto since before he attended the Academy. Unless something significant changed, he wasn't a boy to do something unless he had some sort of goal in mind. Like becoming Hokage, as… difficult as that path would be for him.

And it would give him a good idea of just how much the Kyuubi had influenced the boy.

"Well, at first, I wanted to figure out how to break my seal-"

Hiruzen struggled to keep his face neutral.

"-but Kurama said that was a bad idea, and wouldn't work anyway. Somebody named Jiraiya has the key. And nobody would trust him anyway unless I got really strong where people thought I could handle him."

Curioser and curioser. Even he didn't know that. "Handle him? What do you mean?"

"Well, um… like, strong enough where he wouldn't take over if the seal wasn't there." He looked up from his stomach. "That was the plan, right?"

 _Not one I knew about._ "What makes you say that?"

"Well, the seal was made loose."

"What?" His efforts to remain neutral had failed utterly.

"I looked at what the seal was supposed to look like in that scroll." Naruto jabbed a thumb at the case behind him. "And it was loose. Not by that much, but it looked like it was done on purpose. Kurama thinks so too."

Hiruzen grumbled internally. It would have been nice to be informed of these plans. But his anger faded when he realized who it was that made these plans, and Jiraiya's state of mind directly after the incident. If Jiraiya had even known. The plan could have easily been spur of the moment on the Fourth's part.

"So… what _is_ your plan?"

"Well, um..." Naruto blushed. "I know it's kinda stupid, but I wanted to make a new seal. One that, like, projects his chakra from my body so he doesn't have to be trapped anymore."

Hiruzen's eyes sharpened.

"But, like, only lets us give each other chakra, but prevents taking it. So people don't get really worried and stuff."

"I see." So if the Kyuubi actually went on a rampage, Naruto could literally just deny him access through his body. Though the phrase 'give _each other_ chakra' was still a little worrying.

"But even Kurama doesn't know how to do that, so I don't know how _I'm_ gonna do it. And I'd still need the key, y'know?"

"...I'll send a message to Jiraiya."

Naruto gasped.

"That doesn't give you permission to try. That's for him to decide." And it would be good to have a seal master actually look over what he was being taught. Just in case the fox was playing the long game from an angle he hadn't anticipated.

His smile only wavered slightly before reasserting itself. "Thanks, Jiji. You're the best."

At that moment, the door slammed open and Iruka rushed in. "Hokage-sama! Mizuki was arrested, and I think Naruto is missi-"

"Hi Iruka-sensei!"

"It appears, Naruto, that your presence has been missed."

Iruka rushed over and quickly checked him for injuries. "Naruto! What happened? I heard that you were seen with Mizuki, but I couldn't find you anywhere!"

_Oh. So my clones dispelled themselves already._

"Um, yeah. He told me about a secret, different way to graduate, but he was lying, so I beat him up with the new jutsu I learned from that scroll." He pointed at the case.

Iruka paled and looked at the Hokage nervously. Hiruzen just nodded. "Don't worry. It was nothing too dangerous for the boy to learn, given his… situation. The Multi Shadow Clone jutsu was only classified as a kinjutsu due to its extensive chakra cost."

He blinked in surprise. "Shadow clones? But clones were the only thing that he seemed to have any significant trouble with at the Academy."

Hiruzen gave him a significant look. "Those with naturally large chakra reserves often have great trouble with chakra control."

Naruto cleared his throat nervously, looking at his teacher. "So, um… if that _wasn't_ the secret way to pass, I still have to go back to the Academy next year, don't I?"

After a quick glance at the Hokage, Iruka smiled. "Well, they weren't conventional clones, and they were a little late, but I think it counts, don't you?"

Of course, _beating up a chuunin_ had a little to do with his opinion of Naruto's ability to become a ninja, but he wasn't about to tell that to the boy and give him any ideas. Even stealing the Scroll might have done it, really. But he couldn't be too sure that the Hokage hadn't just _let him take it_. He liked Naruto himself, but the Hokage tended to like him a little more than what was safe.

Sure Iruka had quite a bit more perspective on Naruto's behavior than he did when Naruto first entered his class, but he wouldn't have even trusted _himself_ with such an object as a kid. Not to mention what Mizuki the traitor could have done with it.

But seeing Naruto's shining eyes looking up at him, he could kind of understand.

"Come on, kid. Let's go get some ramen. This is a big moment, don't you think?"


	6. Chapter 5

Iruka was impressed.

It was of course, to be expected that Naruto was particularly excited. He got to be treated by his teacher to his favorite food, and he even got his sensei's _own headband_. He didn't even seem to be particularly bothered that it was all scratched up and used. (Iruka wasn't someone who saw the value in polishing something that would only make you more visible.) In fact, if he didn't know any better, he'd say Naruto liked it even more, as his fingers traced the scrapes more than once before he actually tied it around his head.

No, it wasn't that. It was what he ordered. Now, Iruka knew that Naruto loved ramen. Most of his lunches were ramen, and he even knew from the Hokage himself that this was his favorite restaurant (as well as the only one that would have him).

But when he asked for custom toppings, they were rather...strange. Not necessarily bad. Just strange for a twelve year old. Especially since Iruka knew what food pills were made of. They certainly would be a bit of a strange combination.

Even Teuchi looked surprised.

Well, that was more likely due to the fact that Naruto only ate three bowls, even when it was all being paid for. But Iruka knew a little of why they might be a little more filling.

It was just as well, because those bowls were at least twice as expensive as normal.

"Naruto, what you did was impressive, and you _do_ deserve to graduate, but I don't want you to do something like that again, do you hear me?"

Naruto looked up from his bowl. "Huh. Okay, yeah."

"If you had come to me and talked about it, we could have avoided this whole thing."

He sighed. "Yeah. I feel a little stupid about all this. I mean, to even get that scroll thing, I had to disable a whole load of seals, and I _know_ that's something you didn't teach in class. I should have stopped then, but… I just couldn't give up, y'know? Everybody respects ninja, and..."

Naruto glanced at Iruka's worried expression, and seemed to understand almost immediately. "I know um… what's inside me. I _know_ why everybody doesn't like me. But if I'm a ninja, or maybe only once I become Hokage… it's a chance, y'know? I have to take it. I have to show people I can do it. Protect everyone, y'know. Maybe people will like me then."

Iruka opened his mouth slightly, a little unsure what to say. Eventually he just leaned in and gave a small hug. Naruto gasped softly.

"I'm sure I've been nothing but your overly strict teacher. But just remember that you still have people that look out for you, Naruto. Remember that for me, okay?"

"All right, Iruka-sensei. I will."

Naruto's smile didn't show his teeth, but he kept it all the way until he tucked himself into bed.

* * *

Naruto was not a morning person, and that did not change during his years at the Academy. It took him at least thirty minutes to wake fully.

So in order to not be late to class every single day he attended, he compensated by starting the process earlier. It didn't make the process any more fun, but it helped him get yelled at less often.

It also helped him actually wake up early enough to catch something for breakfast if he forgot the night before. Which was an embarrassingly common occurrence. He couldn't even blame Kurama for not reminding him, since he never actually _had_ to eat anything, even when he wasn't sealed. He just liked to.

But right now, he was cursing that habit, since he didn't actually have class.

In fact, he wouldn't even be assigned a Jounin-sensei until the day after tomorrow.

_«Come on, kit. We have work to do.»_

Naruto groaned. "Training _again_? Can't I have one day off?"

_«I thought you would be excited to get rid of that crappy handbag.»_

Naruto found himself very suddenly upright in bed. "You think I'm ready?"

_«You tell me. Now come on and grab a clean scroll. Unless you want to eat first?»_

His earlier fatigue was completely clear, and with a single bounce on the mattress, pushed himself not just into an upright position, but at a decent pace toward his ninja gear. "No, no. I can eat later. I've been waiting _way_ too long for this already."

The scroll Naruto had reserved for this purpose wasn't all that big. Weight was always a precious commodity for ninja on the move. Or at least that's what Kurama kept telling him every time he complained about carrying his bag.

Water was especially difficult, and the most often needed on a mission. So a canteen of the stuff was going to be the first accessible sealed item.

More could be added later. Which was kinda the other reason for using a small scroll. He had several places to strap them on his outfit as needed.

Unfortunately, he had to carry all his extra exploding tags the traditional way. Storing a seal in another seal was… not a good idea, to say the least. Even with the inactive ones, he didn't really want to risk it.

Then there was the sorts of items that didn't really need to be on hand all the time, but were useful if something went wrong. Those went in there too. Like fire starting materials. Or a sleeping bag. A large portion of waterproof cloth. Some rope. Food pills in case he had to travel somewhere that didn't have anything readily available to eat.

And finally, he added some spots for extra shuriken and kunai. Which he currently did not own, other than a few dozen of each in rather cruddy condition that he swiped from training fields over the years. And a few of better quality he snuck out of class when they were practicing with real weapons.

_«We'll go shopping later, Naruto. Go snipe a bird or something for breakfast. You're supposed to complete your registration in less than an hour.»_

Right. So there _was_ a deadline today. _Thanks, Kurama. I completely forgot about that!_

Naruto rolled up the scroll and tucked it into one of the straps he had sewn to the front of his uniform, slipping the brush into the receptacle on his arm.

He smirked. "All right. Let's do this."

_«Naruto, you need a shower.»_

"Aw, come on!"

* * *

The actual registration process was easier than Naruto was expecting. A lot less annoying, too, given the fact that paperwork was involved. But Kurama made sure he always knew things like his height, weight, and stuff like that. Something to do with training, he didn't bother to pay that much attention. And Kurama hadn't yelled at him for it, so it probably didn't matter that he didn't know the reason.

The rest of the questions were a weird kind of personality test, but that was also kinda easy, since it wasn't like he was trying to be somebody else.

And there was an official photo thing to be put on the graduation yearbook thing. It was just as stuffy as all the other years, but this one was more important or something. He wore Iruka's headband for that one.

Oh, and Jiji's stupid grandson tried to do a "sneak attack" in the middle of everything.

 _Okay, maybe he's not_ stupid _, just really annoying. It's his_ teacher _that's stupid. I hope he doesn't pick up his teacher's stupid-ness._

But he still had the rest of the day to do a proper shopping trip.

Naruto hadn't really had one of those for a long time. Maybe once or twice he went out to buy some milk, or sometimes he ran out of ramen for school lunches (which wasn't often – he bought in bulk). Maybe he bought some ink or paper. None of those were particularly expensive. Even his visits to Ichiraku Ramen were infrequent enough that his "Gama-chan" was quite full from his monthly stipend. Enough where he had to store some of his money elsewhere.

And he needed the money. Proper ninja tools were not inexpensive.

He wasn't even being overcharged, either. The kunoichi merchant was actually nice to him for some reason. Plus, he watched other ninja buy their stuff, and it was the same as the prices he was being told. So he wasn't being obtuse just because she was pretty.

Of course, he _was_ buying everything with the highest possible quality metal. And in triplicate. So Gama-chan was already getting pretty empty. Naruto was starting to understand Kurama's insistence that he _not_ go out to eat whenever he could afford it.

 _«No, kit, I just said that so your special reward would_ remain _something special.»_

_Oh._

Naruto's eyes drifted over the rest of the merchandise. There were several weapons shops like this one that catered to the village's largely ninja population, but this was the one that Kurama recommended to him.

In retrospect, that might have been why the shopkeeper seemed so nice. Kurama seemed really good at reading people.

But passing over all sorts of weapons that he had absolutely no training in, his attention drifted almost immediately as soon as he saw seal script.

"Hey, how much do the paper bombs cost?" He had at least fifty in his pocket already, but he was curious. If his money ran out this fast, he might want to sell some stuff eventually.

The woman chuckled. "Sorry, but you need a license to use those."

Naruto's mouth fell open. "Wait, I was just told that they couldn't be sold to Academy students!"

She looked at him strangely. "Well, yes. That would be the natural thing to do."

Naruto shook his head. "No, what I mean is, I've been making my own for years!" Naruto grabbed a literal handful from his pocket. "Where do I get this license thingy?"

The woman paled, staring at his hand.

Naruto shoved them back in. "Don't worry, none of these are charged. I only do that if I think I'll need to use them."

She let out a silent breath. "Just… ask around at the Administration Building. I'm sure someone there will help you."

Naruto quickly took his new purchases and left before things got any more awkward.

_Kurama! Why didn't you tell me about any of this? Stealing a few chipped kunai is fine and all, but I don't wanna be arrested!_

_«Don't blame me, brat! How would I know about stuff like that?»_

This time, registration was not nearly as simple. Neither was the paperwork.

Neither was explaining to half the building that he had been handling large amounts of explosives for years. Practically every person he talked to left a few shades lighter.

Fortunately, in Kurama's opinion, despite needing a separate license, all that was needed was a short written test on the proper handling of the bombs.

Naruto still hated it, but the fox thought it was a good thing, overall, that they had not asked for a practical demonstration. Naruto liked to be… creative… in his use of the things. Creative enough where he was sure that the higher-ups would be a lot more hesitant about the little Jinchuuriki having access to the things. More than they already were, at least. Nobody quite forgot the days where he incessantly pranked the entirety of Konoha.

The Hokage, when contacted, just smiled with a twinkle in his eye.

_«Bastard.»_

_What?_

_«Nothing.»_

He did learn that explosive tags (charged, that is) were actually rather expensive. Most genin didn't bother with more than a few for that very reason.

So the test for handling them was very dull and very stupid. Kurama helped him through it by wording things in a less stupid way.

In the end, the test was equally annoying for both of them.

It also ate up the rest of the day getting someone willing to proctor the test.

It was Iruka, by the way. On his day off. He did not appreciate the complaining. He did, however, appreciate being given a stack of the things on the way out.

Incidentally, this was how he figured out how expensive explosive tags were supposed to be.


	7. Chapter 6

Naruto enjoyed his day of rest. It was odd. Kurama didn't even try to get him to do anything. He hadn't given him an actual day like this in, well… ever.

Okay, technically Kurama couldn't _make_ Naruto do anything. But he always seemed to know exactly what to say to guilt him into doing whatever he wanted.

Now he could do whatever _he_ wanted.

...Okay, so what he wanted pretty much amounted to seeing what sorts of new and interesting pranks he could play with his new ninja skills. Henge became his new favorite jutsu almost immediately.

Probably because pranking anybody below chuunin with lethal weaponry was a bad idea even _he_ could see a mile away. And using non-lethal weaponry scared the _hell_ out of civilians in a way that wasn't very fun.

Making a few shadow clones that could turn into practically any object? Almost no cost, infinite opportunity.

The only annoyance was when his other selves invariably came up with better ideas than he did and decided to change things on the fly. Or started pranking _him_ instead.

But at the end of the day, he really was looking forward to tomorrow. The time when he'd get an actual jounin sensei and go on missions for real.

* * *

_Damn it, I forgot about this part._

Kurama tuned out what was happening around Naruto. He couldn't really trust himself to comment. Naruto's male hormones were starting to kick in, and Sakura was the main target. Despite a clear lack of interest, or tact, on her part. Yet he also knew that she would eventually mellow out and be a generally decent person and team member.

And he hated Uchiha Sasuke just about as much as Naruto did right now, but if they ended up on the same team again, well… Naruto had turned _him_ around, maybe the same could be done for Sasuke before he went all missing-nin and got all the stupid ideas about revenge at all costs, and later on, peace at all costs.

Naruto's vision was even stupider (peace and none of the costs), but it was _working._ At least it was before everything went to hell. That had nothing to do with Naruto's ideals, though. His ideals were quite simply the only reason that everything had gone as well as it did.

_The last thing he needs right now is my cynical nonsense messing that up._

"Next, Team 7! Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke!"

_So, the same team, huh? Probably same sensei, too. I knew that "balance" stuff was nonsense. So what's the real reason?_

_Of course, Sasuke is a no-brainer. Kakashi is the only remaining Sharingan user in the village, and Sasuke was a member of the main family. It would be expected that the doujutsu would manifest in him, and he would need coaching._

_Naruto… well, it was likely that someone wanted to keep an eye on him. Kakashi, while nothing compared to the power thrown around during the war, was likely the strongest jounin at this time._

_Sakura… well, the village seems to like splitting up the kunoichi. Probably due to a tendency for them to have better chakra control. Or something. Maybe it's due to the fact that hormones seem to pit them against each other around this age, and forming a team with more than one is a challenge._

Anyway, it was high time for a nap.

* * *

Naruto groaned. He had been waiting for more than an hour, Sasuke was being a jerk like always, and Sakura was ignoring him completely. He didn't know why it would have been any different _today_ , but he was nothing if not optimistic.

He was also really bored. So he started "doodling" on a slip of paper.

_Whoever this stupid Hatake Kakashi is, he's going to be in for it._

* * *

Kakashi understood the Hokage's reasoning. He really did. But he still wasn't happy about it. Every year he was assigned a team with great potential but absolutely no concept of teamwork, just for the chance that he would be able to change that.

Unlike the other times, though, this team came with consequences for failure. If he didn't wholeheartedly agree with the other team assignments, he would have demanded that it be changed to something more suitable.

And if it actually _worked_ , this team had quite the effective potential. Teams this hard-hitting were rare.

_Probably for this exact reason. Strength seems to have an inverse relationship with mental stability._

Kakashi stopped by the entrance to Iruka's classroom, pausing to hear the conversation inside.

"Naruto! Grow up!"

"What? That's what he gets for making us wait so long. I'm bored. So sue me."

"Our sensei is a jounin, Naruto. He's an elite ninja. He's not going to fall for something like that."

_So the little prankster is setting traps? Well, I'm not one to pass up a first impression…_

He walked calmly through the door and was immediately pummeled with sandals.

Naruto's, given his bare feet.

The paper strip taped to the inside of the doorframe was a good clue as to where they came from.

It was a solid trap. Not one he would have actually had trouble with, but he was more interested in the new team's reactions.

Haruno Sakura was cringing and apologizing for Naruto's actions. Yet he noticed that she made no effort to actually stop him physically despite her verbal protests. Naruto was just laughing at him. And Uchiha Sasuke was glaring at him, completely failing his little impromptu test.

Yeah, this was going great.

"Hmm… how shall I put this? Based on my first impression, I'd have to say.. I hate you."

Ah, that was better. They seemed to all understand that he was still instrumental in their upcoming ninja career.

"Meet me on the roof."

* * *

Kurama supposed that he shouldn't have been quite as surprised that though Naruto's aspirations to become Hokage were unchanged, the rest of his likes and dislikes were quite different. Well, at least the internal ones he told Kurama. The ones he actually said out loud he used to annoy Kakashi as much as possible.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like being honest with my comrades. I like it even better when they are honest with me. I hate it when comrades use the opportunity to get to know me to give me stupid tests. And my dream is to one day become a better shinobi than Hokage-sama, and gain that position myself!"

Naruto had trouble keeping a straight face as Kurama rolled around their shared mindscape laughing his tails off.

Kakashi blinked a few times. "I see."

Sakura gaped openly at the boy next to her. Even Sasuke gave him a sidelong glance.

"My hobbies? I guess I like setting up pranks. And I like training, even when it's really hard."

Kakashi nodded. "Next!"

It was more of the same. This was one of the few moments that Kurama had actually paid attention to this early when he was here the last time. It seemed that whatever Kurama had done in Naruto's life, it hadn't affected the other two enough to make much of a difference.

Though Sasuke gave Naruto a lot fewer dismissive looks.

Sakura was just as oblivious and hyper-focused on Sasuke as ever.

* * *

Kurama was proud of his student. Not only did he prepare far more thoroughly for what Kakashi had described as a "survival exercise," he had also caught his lie about it not being wise to eat beforehand.

Okay, it probably had something to do with a lack of trust with his introduction yesterday. Still, a more suspicious Naruto was an _alive_ Naruto. Even though he knew that Kakashi wasn't actually that bad.

"Naruto! You're late!"

Naruto waved at Sakura and Sasuke as he walked out of the woods. "Nope! _Kakashi-sensei_ is late! So I set up traps all over the place. Come on, I'll tell you where all of them are."

Kakashi watched from the bushes. Of course, he knew that Naruto was doing this, as he was doing precisely the same thing. Though perhaps not quite so enthusiastically.

 _Does he already know what we are doing here today? I_ did _say that it would be a survival test against me, but that sort of thing is a lot different from what they did at the Academy.  
_

And with just how _many_ explosives he was using, and how fast he was setting them, it was actually not possible for him to keep him in sight at all times.

Even if he tried, there was no guarantee that he hadn't been doing this since before he got there. It would significantly hinder his mobility. Either his paranoia rivaled his own, or Naruto actually respected his skill despite falling for his earlier trap.

They were only genin, though, fresh from the academy. They would still require teamwork if they wanted to get anywhere near him, traps or no.

Out of all of them, Naruto seemed to be the only one that instinctively understood the concept of teamwork. Case in point – he was already notifying them of the traps he set, despite their clear lack of interest.

Even if he failed the team, he would make sure that the boy got apprenticed rather than sent back to the academy.

"Good morning class!"

The response was universal.

" _ **You're late!**_ _"_


	8. Chapter 7

Kakashi ignored them, sitting a clock on a tree stump. "I've set this alarm to go off at noon. Right here-" he raised a hand. "I have two small bells. You must steal them from me before the timer sounds.

"Anyone who fails… doesn't get any lunch. Instead you will be tied to that tree stump, where I will eat your lunch in front of you."

Out of the three of them, only Naruto seemed unaffected by this information. _He certainly turned out interesting. I wonder if he called my bluff again._

"All you need is a single bell. But since there aren't enough to go around… well one of you is definitely headed for the stump.

"Whoever that is… will be the first one to fail. On your way back to school, and disgrace."

Naruto frowned, studying him carefully.

"You may, if you so choose, use shuriken and other sharpened weaponry. Attack me with the intent to kill, or you won't stand a chance."

Sakura immediately protested. "But that's dangerous! Why would-"

Naruto waved her off, still frowning. "No, he's serious. That's why I set so many traps. This guy's an elite ninja. He's not gonna get hurt for real, y'know."

Sasuke gave him a sidelong glance. "Did you know of this test beforehand?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guessed. He said it was a survival test _against him_ , so I figured we'd be fighting."

"Hn."

He rolled his eyes. "Guys, I don't think any of us will be able to get a bell on our own. I certainly can't."

Sakura immediately looked at Sasuke. "Do you want to team up with me? We can each get a bell, and..." She trailed off. Sasuke just looked vaguely annoyed.

Naruto groaned. "I _mean_ , we _all_ need to work together. Have any of _you_ tried to prank a jounin?"

He got a few blank stares.

"I gave up, by the way. It just doesn't happen."

Sasuke frowned. "Then what was that in the classroom yesterday?"

Naruto shrugged. "I was bored. I didn't think it would actually _work_."

Kakashi stood off to the side, bemused. On one hand, more teamwork was being suggested than he honestly expected from any team. On the other, they had completely forgotten that he was right next to them.

"It _did_ work, though. We can take this guy."

"Sakura, we can't assume that. Ninja lie all the time."

"Lie about getting hit with a sandal?"

He groaned again. "That's not what I meant."

Sasuke cut in. "There are only two bells. Why should all three of us help when one will automatically fail?"

Naruto had actually caught on to Kakashi's ruse a few minutes ago. When Kakashi said that only nine were allowed to pass, he noticed quite quickly that the number suspiciously aligned with the three-man teams they were organized into.

He didn't actually know what the deal with his test was or why he was doing it, but he had a feeling that he would not appreciate Naruto ruining the entire thing by letting everyone know that teams were likely only passed or failed in groups.

So instead, he tried a different tactic. "Okay, you two will get the bells. I'm still helping out, though."

Naruto always prided himself on his ability to cause long, awkward silences. Confused awkward silences were even better.

"Why?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

He already had an excuse ready. "I'm going to be Hokage no matter when I graduate!" Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Besides, it looks like I'm the only one who actually ate breakfast."

He paused, looking back at Kakashi. "Oh, sensei? It's not allowed to eat during the test, is it?"

Kakashi blinked. "No it is not."

"What about food pills?"

"Unless they are soldier pills, and a part of your attack strategy, no."

"Darn." Naruto looked back. "Yeah, so I'm the best one for the tying up thing."

"I don't trust you."

"Why?"

Sasuke glared at him. "You're taking all of this far too calmly. You have something planned. I know it. How can either of us trust you from not just stealing a bell from _us_ once we get them? After all, you seem quite confident that we are much weaker than him."

Naruto glanced at the clock. It was 10:14. They had a little less than two hours. More than enough time.

"Okay, if you two really want to try first, go ahead. Just don't tire yourselves out completely, otherwise we'll have no chance at all."

Naruto received glares from both sides now.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "You know, you three can start whenever you're ready."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura. "Don't get in the way." Sakura hesitantly nodded, and a second later, both of them rushed into the woods on either side of their teacher.

Naruto sat down in the grass and leaned back on his elbows.

When around ten seconds passed and nothing was happening, Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a book, which he began to read leisurely.

Shuriken flew out from the trees, and appeared to hit him solidly, and with an almost disturbing amount of blood.

_«No, Naruto, that is the normal amount of blood. You kill animals all the time. You should know this.»_

_But…_

The image of Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, and a shuriken-ridden log dropped to the ground.

_«You are a ninja. You have to get used to blood, even from a human target.»_

_I know. It's just… not what I expected._

_...I need to learn that substitution jutsu._ Despite his recent shock, Naruto already had at least six good ideas. And the ten minutes he spent sitting in the grass only gave him more.

_«You need to learn the shunshin first. And for that you need better chakra control.»_

_What? Oh, yeah. I kinda get it. You need to be fast enough to substitute stuff without people noticing._

Naruto groaned and sat up. He knew that he said he would let his teammates try to attack Kakashi-sensei on their own, but something about the silence didn't feel right.

_All right. Sakura first. Now, where are you?_

It didn't take too long for him to track her down, as she did not seem to be masking her trail very well. Besides, she was still wearing perfume.

Okay, he liked the actual perfume, but even he had to admit it was kinda stupid for a ninja. He didn't really think he could actually say that out loud to her, though.

A scream rang out, and his face hardened. _Okay, enough is enough._

_«It is unlikely that your sensei actually harmed her severely.»_

_I know, but…_

_«_ Think _, kit.»_

Naruto came quickly upon Sakura, crumpled haphazardly on the ground. She had no visible injuries.

 _Right, genjutsu._ Naruto remembered that from class. None of it was actually taught at the academy, just ways to fight it. But the subject was a lot less interesting when Kurama mentioned that with him inside, he was practically immune. And actually using it required very precise chakra control.

But to wake up a teammate was simple.

"Kai!" Naruto pushed a palm into her back, and released a large burst of unfocused chakra.

Sakura's eyes popped open. "What? Where's Sasuke?"

Naruto helped her up. "Genjutsu. What did you see?"

"Sasuke, he..." The context was not hard to figure out from the expression on her face.

_I guess I'm not the only one that was a little freaked out to see Kakashi like that…_

"Don't worry, Kakashi's our sensei. Even if we fail, I don't think he'll go _that_ far."

Sakura looked at him closely. "Why did you help me? I thought you were going to wait until we failed." Her eyes widened. " _Did_ we fail?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. I just got impatient." _Only a little true._ "How did you get separated?"

Sakura looked down. "I'm not as fast as Sasuke is."

"Don't worry about it. Now, we'll need a plan against this guy. Anything you notice about him?"

She sighed. "Not really. I don't know how much of it was real, if I got caught in a genjutsu. I do know he's _fast_ , though. I knew ninja could be powerful, but… it's the first time I've seen it in person."

Naruto nodded. "All right. Then a simple plan will be fine. I'll distract him, you and Sasuke get the bells."

Sakura looked away slightly. "I, uh… don't think Sasuke really likes working with other people."

"Well, he still wants to get a bell, so that's what he'll already be doing. I'm sure he'll listen to me if he already wants to do the thing I'm telling him."

"And… you still want both of us to get the bells?"

"Sure." Getting Sakura to look 'underneath the underneath' would have to come later. He could already hear the sounds of fighting.

**FOOM!**

"Whoa."

_Wow, fire jutsu? I knew Sasuke was good, but I didn't expect that._

Naruto shook his head. That wouldn't matter to a ninja like Kakashi. Fire jutsu were better used for area denial or distraction rather than direct damage due to their slow travel time.

...He was still kinda annoyed that Kurama didn't let him learn any elemental jutsu yet. It was not like it was hard to steal stuff from the library.

"Stay in the trees, Sakura. I'll distract him. You'll know when to attack." He almost went to go, but paused and looked back. "But just in case, don't start until something explodes."

She nodded. "Right."

He walked out into the clearing where Sasuke's head was sticking out of the ground. _Likely an earth jutsu._

"Kakashi! Come out and fight me like a man!" He grinned, raising a fist to the sky. As soon as Kakashi walked out to admonish him, he formed a seal.

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Around fifty clones poofed into existence around him and most of them rushed immediately at his teacher.

Naruto himself with the help of a few more pulled Sasuke out of the ground. "Changed my mind. Distraction. Wait for the explosion."

Sasuke glared at him, but nodded.

In the chaos, a few clones escaped into the forest.

Naruto grinned and launched into the ongoing attack with the rest of his clones.

Even with his higher-than-average taijutsu ability, they were getting poofed right and left. Naruto expected this.

He also planned on getting his non-clone ass handed to him. He was counting on it, in fact.

So when a clone circled around into Kakashi's blind spot rigged with about twenty exploding tags, his attention would be on lecturing what he knew for a fact to be the real Naruto.

Who was conveniently just outside the explosion radius.

Kakashi barely got singed. But that was also to be expected. It was his throbbing headache and ringing ears that were the real advantage.

And he took time to compliment Naruto on his trap. Teachers were so easy to predict.

So between his dulled senses, disorientation, and current distraction, Sakura was able to be just sneaky enough to grab the bells and toss one to a distinctly annoyed Sasuke.

Kakashi rubbed his head. "Good one."

Sasuke still glared at the kunoichi. "I could have done that, too."

"I know. I just felt like I should contribute _something_. And if I failed, I'm sure you could have done it even when he was a bit more aware."

Kakashi ignored them and gave a significant look to Naruto. "You know what this means for you, don't you?"

Naruto nodded, a slight smile on his face.

Kakashi sighed. _This kid is going to be the death of me._

* * *

Naruto smiled as he stood up, tied with rope to the thick wooden post, and his teammates ate beside him. Their sensei was nowhere to be found, probably off eating his own lunch, but he wasn't worried.

Sasuke growled. "I don't get you. Why are you so happy? Why did you help me? Why did you help both of us get the bells like that? You're going to get sent back to the academy with nothing to show."

Sakura cringed. "I hate to say it, but you helped me so much back there… I don't think I would have had a chance without you there. And that thing you did with your clones… you shouldn't be the one that gets sent back to the Academy." _Even though that would mean that I would lose this golden opportunity with Sasuke. Argh, this isn't_ fair _!_

Naruto looked at each of them in turn. "Sakura… Sasuke… did you stop to consider why they divided the class into teams?"

Sakura frowned. "Well, there aren't enough jounin to teach us all individually. And you said earlier, this test wouldn't be possible without all three of us."

"Have you ever heard of a ninja taking a mission _alone_? Okay, sure, only one ninja might _survive-_ "

Sakura cringed, and Naruto kicked himself mentally, remembering the genjutsu. _Not the time._

"But even the Hokage has advisors. Ninja are stronger when they work _together_."

"I work better alone. Others just get in my way."

Naruto just gave Sasuke a glance. He didn't have to say anything. It communicated his thoughts perfectly.

_And just where did that get you?_

"That's when you help your comrades get stronger."

More than physical training, that was the core of what Kurama was trying to teach him.

Of course, this Naruto didn't realize that much of the curriculum was ripped directly from his own older self's mind. He probably wouldn't have needed teaching if Naruto at this point even knew what a comrade _was_. Everybody ignored him other than the Hokage, Kurama, and later, Iruka-sensei.

But he was getting closer and closer to gaining two more, and he wasn't going to give up when that goal was still in sight.

Sakura was rather naïve, but she was the sort of book smart Naruto wasn't. And aside from her good looks, he was starting to see the beginnings of if not friendship, at least mutual respect, something he got from few classmates.

And Sasuke… well, as much as he wanted to hate him, he was the only other classmate that understood the meaning of pain.

He was still an ass, though.

Sasuke's arm stretched out, half of his meal still in his hand.

Naruto blinked. "What? Are you giving that to me?"

His stomach growled, and Sasuke hadn't retracted his arm. "You need that more than I do. I ate my breakfast. Besides, what if Kakashi-sensei sees you?"

"I'm already full." Sasuke didn't say anything else.

"...Thanks."

Sakura looked down at her own empty meal. "Sorry, I'd give you some of mine, too, but..."

Naruto chuckled in between bites. "I get it. I'll be fine with this."

She smiled sheepishly. "Maybe I shouldn't have been dieting so much."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto. "That doesn't completely explain the test. If it was designed with teams in mind, why only two bells?"

**BOOM!**

Kakashi appeared in front of them in an explosion of smoke and wind, an expression of utter fury on his face.

" _You!…._

"Pass!"

Sakura blinked rapidly. Naruto smirked. Sasuke nodded.

Kakashi's expression changed from livid to mild cheer in an instant. "Naruto here has the right idea. The rest of you have taken your first big step in the correct direction. Before now, you have followed my instructions to the letter, without question. You are indeed taught to follow orders. But a true shinobi seeks for hidden meanings within hidden meanings. You must look underneath the underneath."

Naruto glanced at his stomach suspiciously.

_«I know, kit. I plagiarized. So sue me.»_

"In the ninja world, those who break the rules... are scum. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

Sakura gasped. "Oh!"

Sasuke glanced between them, then nodded.

"This exercise is now concluded. You all pass. That will be all for today. Team Seven, your duties start tomorrow!"


	9. Chapter 8

Naruto groaned, rubbing the fading scratches across his face and neck.

"Ugh, I hate D rank missions. They're, like, chores, but a lot more annoying."

«You do get paid. Quite generously for how easy they are.»

"Maa, I would think you would be all for this sort of thing, Naruto."

Naruto looked at his teacher strangely. "What? Why?"

Kakashi shrugged. "You're the one that lectured the rest of the team about the importance of working together. Surely you don't expect that to come instantly?"

Okay, Naruto could kind of see that now.

"Besides, you get paid to do it."

At the same time, neither of his teammates seemed to care that much about money, and with the way Sasuke's scowl was directed at Kakashi, it seemed that he felt the same way as Naruto did. While they were certainly getting better at working together, and even gaining some practical experience with group ninja protocol, they weren't exactly getting stronger, either.

And now that they all knew what a ninja like Kakashi was capable of – they had to work together to even touch him, for goodness' sake – they were all painfully aware of just how far behind they were. Sasuke for his revenge against his brother, Naruto for his goal of Hokage, and Sakura because she had very suddenly realized that practical skills were much more important than theoretical knowledge in an actual mission, even if Naruto kept insisting that she was valuable and important to the team.

Naruto looked up. "Hey, sensei? Can we take a break from missions and work on training?"

Kakashi blinked. Sasuke shot him a grateful look.

"We can still do teamwork stuff, but we get stronger, so we can do better missions!"

"There may come a time when you are grateful for a D rank."

Kakashi was still unsure just how Naruto managed to buy the kind of ninja tools he was using without money from any D-ranks. He must either have been the most frugal twelve-year-old he had ever met, or he wasn't eating well.

He should probably look into that.

"Yeah, but that's not now. It's not like older ninja can't do D ranks, right? Can we go do training or not? I really want to learn stuff like the shunshin."

The kawarimi, the replacement jutsu, was his original interest in the technique, but Kurama had been telling him stories about his father, and how certain ninja used it. Nobody actually knew his father's much superior Hiraishin technique or how it worked (other than "with seals"), but using chakra to enhance his speed, even if it was only for a second, was invaluable. Especially if he got good enough to use it in combat.

"Only if your teammates agree."

Sasuke gave a short nod. Sakura hesitated a bit more, looking at each of them, before nodding as well.

"I see. Training it is, then. Meet me at the fifth training ground in five minutes."

For once, Kakashi wasn't late. And this time, he wasted no time messing around.

"You might think that I am here to teach you three new jutsu." He looked pointedly at Naruto. "You would be incorrect."

"Why not?"

Kakashi leaned up against a tree. "Because you still need to learn the basics."

There was a round of general indignation. Even Sakura didn't look happy. "But sensei, none of us were slouches in the academy. Even Naruto passed the written tests, and I've gotten a lot better at sparring."

"Hey!"

"I'm not trying to insult you Naruto, you're just… more of a physical learner."

"The academy does not teach nearly enough."

Three sets of eyes jumped back to their teacher.

"That's my opinion, anyways. Standards fall in time of peace, yadda yadda. The point is, while the academy teaches the basics of weapon usage and hand to hand combat quite well, it barely touches on ninjutsu at all, and genjutsu even less. It teaches just the bare minimum of chakra control. Just enough to find it. Only the basics of using it.

"So today we're going to be climbing trees."

Naruto turned his attention inward.

Chakra control? You said I'm terrible at that!

«You do need the practice. And he's right. You need it if you want to be any good at ninjutsu.»

But can't I learn-

«With shadow clones, the only thing you need to pay attention to is efficiency. You might create a few clones more or less than intended, but it's no big deal. You put too much chakra into a body flicker… well, with your chakra levels, and your lack of control, you'll run into a tree and die from the impact.»

Naruto gulped. Right.

He looked back up at his team, who looked just about as confused as he was about Kakashi's statement. Being stupidly vague was probably a sensei thing, Naruto reflected.

"So… how does climbing trees help with chakra control? I climb trees all the time, but I'm not very good at chakra control."

"Simple. You aren't going to be using your hands." And with that, he very slowly but deliberately walked up the tree.

"...Ah."

Naruto was quite familiar with pushing himself off things with chakra. Most ninja did, even if in many Academy students it wasn't entirely conscious. Sticking to something, however…

"...So how do we do that?"

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Sakura got it in no time at all. It took her about three tries total. So she went off to do other training with Kakashi while Naruto and Sasuke ran up trees over and over.

It wasn't like Naruto was unaware of what he was doing wrong. Each time he failed, he knew that either he was slipping due to using pretty much no chakra, or flying backwards because he was making small explosions beneath his feet. Something he did every day to get around.

It was even more irritating that the gap between his and Sasuke's ability was only growing the longer they practiced.

His occasional smug glances were a perfect motivator.

And after Sasuke was done, it was even more of a shock to hear that they were learning water walking next. Naruto didn't even know that was a thing ninja could do.

Naruto was there for a long time afterwards.

Kakashi had actually "called it a day" quite a while ago, but Naruto had snuck back to the train almost immediately afterwards.

I can sleep in a tree when I'm done.

The next day they were all falling into the lake together. As expected, Sakura was having much more success with this than either Naruto or Sasuke, but only Naruto really seemed to take the constant failure in stride.

As Kakashi had explained, this was not a matter of learning the theory, studying the movement, and then executing the technique, as many low-level (and even more complex) jutsu required. This was about intuition as much as it was about chakra control.

It also required a lot more control than the tree climbing stuff, so Naruto sucked at it even worse. He could stand on the water, and even predict where he would need to direct his chakra, but actually moving it precisely enough to work was beyond him.

It sucked, especially when Sakura finished and went off with Kakashi again, but Naruto could definitely see why they were doing it. He could only manage to keep his balance for about three seconds, but a quick test of his Shadow Clone technique showed him that the training was working already - the same amount of chakra produced almost twice as many clones.

Of course, this meant that he would have to get used to the technique all over again, but the stark difference helped quite a bit with his motivation.

Naruto was about to dispel his clones when Kurama stopped him.

«Kit, wait. Your clones can manipulate the chakra you give them.»

"Yeah, so?"

Sasuke looked at him strangely as he crawled back out of the lake again. Naruto's voice dropped. "What are you getting at?"

«You remember what your clones do.»

"Duh."

«Put two and two together, idiot.»

Naruto frowned. He was used to this treatment, of course. Kurama didn't like to give straight answers, ever. When it came to training, that is. He stated his opinion on things quite bluntly otherwise.

So what did he say? My clones can do jutsu and stuff, and I remember stuff when they go away.

Naruto smacked himself in the forehead. Ah, right. Thanks, sensei.

With another seal, the ten clones already standing around were joined by twenty more. Enough to stand all along the lake's edge, but not enough to completely crowd Sasuke out and annoy him.

«Just don't give yourself chakra exhaustion. Drowning would be incredibly inconvenient.»

Sasuke himself raised an eyebrow at the new clones, but as soon as they started trying to walk on the lake, he simply nodded and ignored them again.

Training was still annoying for Naruto, as half of the time, falling into the water would produce enough of an impact to knock out the clone. But it was a lot faster. This time, when Sasuke succeeded, Naruto was right behind him.

Kakashi still refused to teach them a new jutsu, though. Not yet, at least.

"I want you two to think long and hard on what kind of shinobi you want to be. You both did well in the Academy, so you should know that specialists come in all forms. Make sure you take your own current abilities in consideration."

He turned to Sasuke. "For example, though you do not have the Sharingan, it is likely that it will manifest at some point. Precision and control are key aspects. Genjutsu as well, though the Sharingan's variants are often significantly different than traditional kinds.

"And Naruto. You have mastered the use of the Shadow Clone jutsu to an impressive degree, and have a chakra pool several times greater than my own."

Naruto blinked. "Wait, really? But you're super strong!"

"You will likely be quite effective at using misdirection to make more powerful, but slower jutsu hit for more devastating effect."

Naruto frowned. While that made sense, and would actually be a rather useful strategy if he was meant to use some of the more complicated seals in combat, it wasn't what he had in mind. Still, sealing was his highest priority. At least until Kurama had a reasonable amount of freedom.

"No matter. Spend a good deal of time thinking about your decisions, and meet me back here in the morning. And remember that honing your basic skills can be far more valuable than a new jutsu."

"What about Sakura?"

"She hasn't started learning any jutsu, either. She recognizes her current weaknesses and is eliminating them. Though I believe she is beginning to understand where she wants to go."

"So, uh… what about learning a basic jutsu? The ones I see all sorts of ninja using, like the shunshin y'know?"

Kakashi looked at Naruto carefully. "No." And with a puff of smoke, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looked up the canon conversion rate for ryo. Ninja are paid well. Like, really well. I understand that higher ranked missions are few and far between, but D rank missions, even split between four, pay out around 116.57 USD per person minimum. Hiring ninja is expensive. But weapons and materials are also expensive, so yeah. I don't envy Tenten. Also, you may have noticed that Naruto is significantly less careful about talking with Kurama out loud. That is mostly due to Naruto's carefree nature, and no longer seeing his teammates as "potential enemies."
> 
> Though really, I'm really just covering for the fact that most authors really don't know how to come up with realistic conversion rates between fantasy and real world currencies.


	10. Chapter 9

"What am I supposed to do now?"

_«I don't care. Go climb a cliff with one hand or something.»_

"You can't teach me more about sealing stuff? I already finished the storage seal. I need more if I'm gonna make that seal for you."

_«Jiraiya will be likely arriving soon. He will be more equipped to teach you. Aside from some theory, I have very little practical seals for you to learn.»_

"Are you sure there isn't something else I can do to prepare? I wanna do this as soon as I can, y'know."

Kurama sighed. _«All right, there is one thing. I am unsure that when the seal's barriers are down, that you will be able to handle my chakra.»_

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

_«Your chakra network has adapted to the chakra required to maintain my seal. However, it has not adapted to using my chakra, as I have not been actively trying to force my way out. There will be a time that I will be happy to lend you my full power, but it is likely that doing so would have… drastic effects on your body.»_

"Huh."

_«It is also uncertain to me where that lethal point would be. I like you, Naruto. Other ninja are a different matter, but I don't want you to die. Ever.»_

He wasn't going to mention it to Naruto, or _anyone_ for that matter, but a nagging thought had made its way into his head. He had never been dispelled before. He did not know what it was supposed to be like. The battlefield of the Fourth Great Shinobi War was full of space-time altering jutsu. He did not know what happened to send him back in time. If that Naruto was not back here with him, it was likely that he had died.

Kurama didn't like thinking about the concept.

"Okay, so… what do we do? The seal is still there."

_«Simple. I start pushing out chakra. You train with it.»_

"...Really? That's it?"

_«Yes. The difficulty is that I am a being of chakra. No matter how much I try to separate it, my will is going to inevitably be mixed in.»_

"So? I don't think there's a problem, y'know."

_«Naruto. I may no longer want to slaughter every ninja on the face of the planet, but I'm not easy to get along with. You will likely need to control my anger.»_

"...Oh. Okay, yeah, I get it now."

Even though Naruto had decided long ago to forgive the citizens of the village for the way they treated (and continued to treat) him, there were many occasions that Kurama's own anger was so intense that he felt himself struggle to unclench his fists at the sight of them. And if he hadn't even been pushing out any chakra...

_«You have a strong will of your own. I have confidence that you will succeed.»_

"So, um… why didn't you start this training earlier?"

 _«Because I am still unsure that I should be teaching you about this. Tools are meant to be used, and this particular one is_ too _useful. In fact, the_ only _reason I am considering such training is that I can enforce that you only use my power during training, or if your life is in real and immediate danger.»_

"Why not?"

_«Because I said so, that's why.»_

"Oh." Naruto still wasn't completely satisfied, but he had long learned that pressing further wasn't really in his best interest at this point.

Kurama seemed to notice this. _«Listen, kit. I want us to be a team of two. I may be powerful, but in the shinobi world, there are no shortcuts. Or rather, there_ are _, but they almost invariably lead to death. Or insanity. If you start throwing around my power, and you don't have the skill to back it up, you're going to get caught off guard, die,_ _and I won't be able to do a damn thing about it.»_

"..."

_«But if you don't train using my power, you'll be in just as much trouble. So let's get going.»_

"...Kurama-sensei, is it all right if I take a break for a few minutes?"

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei? Do you know anything about sealing?"

"I see that you have thought about your future. Though you may find that you struggle with sealing."

Naruto frowned. "Wait, really? Why?"

"Chakra control. Most complex, battle-ready seals require quite a lot of it. Though if you are creative enough with your clones, and have quite a lot of spare ink, that may not be a problem. Certainly, your large reserves would be helpful as well."

"So… should I do it or not?"

Kakashi gave a small shrug. "That's up to you. Oh, and I can't teach you seals. There are a few people who know the basics, but I am not one of them. Oh, and there are no seal masters that currently live in the village."

Naruto groaned. "Ugh… I really don't want to wait for that Jiraiya guy. Is there anyone who knows anything beyond explosive tags and storage scrolls?"

Kakashi's eye flicked over the scroll tucked in his uniform, and his mind went back to the many, many traps he had been setting before the bell test.

"Ah. So those were all home-made?" Naruto's financial situation had shifted from "make sure he isn't a kleptomaniac" to "vaguely worrying." He would be worried that Naruto had been practicing dangerous jutsu without instruction or supervision, but if he had gotten the attention of _Jiraiya_...

"Yeah, if you ever need some explosive tags, I can make them pretty easy."

He nodded. "You do have the chakra for it. You don't want to be paid?"

Naruto smirked. "I may trade some for shunshin training."

Kakashi's eye hinted at his smile. "I suppose that could be arranged." He turned to the lake. "How long can you stay on the surface?"

Naruto understood. Kurama already told him that a lack of control with that particular jutsu was dangerous. "I can stay however long I want, and I can walk and stuff, but I don't think I could spar or anything like that."

He shrugged. "Good enough.

"The first thing you must understand is that while it might be relatively easy to increase your speed with chakra, increasing your perception speed or reaction time is almost impossible without some sort of bloodline limit. Therefore, the real difficulty of this jutsu is knowing where you are, where you want to be, and know exactly how much chakra you must channel and for how long."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Oh. Yeah."

"It gets even more complex if you decide to use it for more than straight line distances. Significantly more dangerous. You will not use this on more than a flat plain until I say so, got it?"

"Yes, sensei."

Kakashi slipped his book back into his pouch. "Now, the first step..."

* * *

Learning the Shunshin was… frustrating, to say the least. As expected, Naruto constantly channeled too much chakra and went far more than intended.

It wasn't like he physically couldn't channel less chakra, but unlike the much simpler clones, which he still had trouble with, this technique was complicated enough where he _had_ to channel more to get it working at all.

He could indeed channel less, but not very _controllably_. The technique would just fail.

The second problem was… well… he kept tripping. Even on flat ground, he traveled so fast that he had no time to react to anything, or even just place his feet correctly.

_«Idiot. Stop running.»_

"What?"

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Did you say something, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "No, no."

_What are you talking about? That's what I'm supposed to be doing._

_«Kit, if you complain about the speed, just go slower.»_

_But I need –_

_«You need to train your reaction speed. So go slower. Simple.»_

Naruto tried again. There was a new furrow in the ground.

_«Slower.»_

He tried again.

_«Take a leisurely walk.»_

_The hell?_

_«Just do it. You have to start somewhere.»_

Naruto activated the jutsu, walking as slowly as his patience would allow. Due to his experiences in sealing, this was significantly slower than it was a year ago.

He blurred three meters ahead.

"Hey! It worked!"

Kakashi looked up from his book, intrigued. "Hm. Interesting strategy. Most ninja just jump until they get used to the speed."

Naruto's face faulted. _Seriously? I could have just done that the whole time?_

_«Trust me, kit. This way is better. Don't you want to be able to fight at this speed?»_

_Yeah, I guess so._

_«Just tell me when you're bored of practicing. I have one more technique I want to show you before you go on missions.»_

_Just now? I thought you taught me every jutsu you knew about. Or knew how to teach, at least._

_«You already know the jutsu. But this will help you avoid needing my power. It just occurred to me as I recalled a… certain memory.»_

_Huh? I already know the jutsu? So what are you going to teach me?_

_«Strategy. Now again! You aren't going to train your reaction speed by just standing around.»_

"Right."

Naruto blurred again.

* * *

Kakashi observed Naruto practice. His strategy was certainly an interesting one. Even without his Sharingan, he could see Naruto's movement. Most ninja just used smaller amounts of chakra, or jumped as he described. But Naruto just slowed himself physically. Counterintuitive, perhaps, for a technique that increased your speed.

But Naruto seemed to have a different idea in mind than most ninja who learned this technique. When he had taught him the technique, that included masking his exit with smoke and leaves. But Naruto had almost immediately discarded that portion entirely. And now he was taking things as slow as possible.

Now, he wasn't even trying to go in a straight line. He was attempting right-angle turns, and even turning back the way he came mid-dash.

The only way those were even possible, even in the half-successes Naruto was demonstrating, was if he was gripping the ground like wall-walking. Which required concentration in itself.

Naruto was not practicing a quick getaway jutsu. He was trying to increase his speed as a whole.

The more he watched, the longer Naruto actually held the jutsu. Which wasn't even part of what he taught. It was supposed to be a quick burst of chakra, gathered and released.

Not held for five entire seconds.

Kakashi was not unfamiliar with the concept of these sorts of battle techniques. His own Lightning Cutter increased his speed by a ludicrous amount – the only reason that it was viable for assassination with all the light and sound it made. But even with the Sharingan, it was difficult to avoid tunnel-vision.

Though other ninja had managed to attain that speed without a Sharingan…

_Well, at the very least, it will be a learning experience for the boy._


	11. Chapter 10

_«Okay, Kakashi is off our collective ass, probably teaching that Uchiha brat something. Let's move on. You can train some more later.»_

Naruto smirked. "Or he's just confident I won't kill myself if left unsupervised for more than three seconds."

He had picked up a few traits from his first sensei.

_«Probably a bit of both. Now listen. Henge. What is it used for?"_

"Uh, disguise? Making sure you aren't recognized and stuff? It only really works on civilians, though. Not unless you only need it for a few seconds."

_«It works better if you aren't using a disguise that wears orange. Still, you are somewhat right. Unless a ninja also suppresses their chakra, it's a pretty bad disguise. Assuming the enemy ninja is not a sensor. And it's almost useless to ask you to suppress your chakra. You are already suppressing mine. Though perhaps you should not be basing your expectations on ANBU forces. Or the Hokage. As long as you act as expected, it is still quite possible to escape notice.»_

"So what are you getting at? It's pretty good as a distraction sometimes, but it's not exactly a good jutsu or anything. Uses a lot of chakra too, especially if I'm trying to be an adult. Almost as much as my clones."

And there it was. Kurama's confirmation. He had been hoping that his memory hadn't been faulty. It didn't make too much sense that Naruto performed an even less chakra-intensive jutsu than the normal clones with better reliability than half the class.

Naruto grinned. "Though my Sexy Jutsu has some pretty great uses."

Kurama rolled his eyes inside Naruto's gut. Even with his direct influence, it seemed that Naruto still was just as innocently perverted as ever. Like, even before puberty hit. It was weird. The jutsu _did_ admittedly work on quite a few powerful ninja. Unfortunately, most of the ninja it worked on were allies.

At the same time, he was a little disappointed that Naruto hadn't figured out _anything_ wrong with what he said. Especially since Naruto _knew_ that his clones were exhausting for practically any other ninja. Kurama didn't point that out, though. Naruto could marvel at his own stupidity later.

_«So, what if you transform into a rock? Or perhaps a shuriken?»_

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. Never thought about it. A rock might be good camouflage, though."

_«Do it then.»_

"Henge!" A rock now dropped to the ground with a loud **thud**. They were also blind. Though the vibrations caused by the ground and wind were certainly an interesting sensation.

And from what Kurama could sense of their new body, the rock was about the same weight as Naruto. It was smaller in size, though. _Mass-based, not size-based. Interesting.  
_

_«Make the rock smaller.»_

Another poof, and a smaller version of the same rock fell and rolled a little on the grass. This one was actually lighter.

_«Drop it.»_

With a final poof, Naruto was restored, and so was their vision.

"Sensei, that was kinda weird."

_«It certainly was. Now, was there anything different about the second transformation?»_

"It used more chakra?" Naruto scratched his head. "Sorry, I can never get it to use the same amount of chakra unless I practice the same transformation over and over."

_«You did nothing wrong, Naruto. That is a simple function of the jutsu. That's not the point of this lesson. Now think of this scenario. You are tied up, and an enemy is about to score the final blow on you. How do you proceed?»_

Naruto frowned. "Uh… what?"

_«The ropes, Naruto. How do you get out?»_

"But I need time for that!"

Kurama groaned. _«Do I really have to tell you everything outright? Turn into a rock, idiot!»_

Naruto blinked. "Oh. Wow, that's a lot easier."

_«Really, Naruto.»_

"Hey, it's not my fault! There were all sorts of classes on getting out of traps, and this wasn't even mentioned _once_! Why wouldn't everybody just do that?"

_«Not everyone thinks, Naruto. While it is okay to build off others' knowledge, you need to understand how to step back and think of alternatives when necessary. Others, even respected ninja, can be wrong, or have ideas that are not fully optimized.»_

"That sounds hard, y'know."

_«...Trust other people, but find something better as often as you can.»_

"Okay, that makes more sense. Why didn't you just say that?"

_«In this case, I think it's a matter of you using an entirely different jutsu.»_

"Wait, _what_ ‽"

_«Remember your jutsu teacher before Iruka?»_

Naruto made a face.

_«Yeah, him. He taught you the wrong seals.»_

He gaped. "Why didn't you tell me, then?"

There was a mental shrug. _«It was working.»_

"Kuraamaaa..."

_«Plus, kit, I knew that if you used the correct seals, you would be overloading it just as badly as the clones.»_

"Okay, okay. So what does this have to do with it being a different jutsu?"

_«Your Henge uses up a lot more chakra, and is entirely solid.»_

"Solid?"

_«It actually changes your shape.»_

"It doesn't for other people?"

_«No it does not.»_

Naruto gasped. "So you're saying… I made up my own jutsu?" A grin spread across his face.

_«I don't actually know. Other Jinchuuriki like yourself have… adapted to their captives. Gained a few powers independent of our actual chakra. That power could be one of mine.»_

"You don't know?"

_«I have spent very little of my life actually outside a host.»_

Naruto looked down. "Oh."

_«Don't worry about it, kit. Not your fault. Now, I want you to understand something. What else was different about your second transformation?"_

"Uh… Well, I was smaller. And it used more chakra. So… the reason it was more difficult is because I was smaller?"

 _«That_ is _true, but not the lesson I wanted you to take away from this. Do rocks perform hand seals?"_

He gasped.

_«Yeah, you don't need them. Now, for most jutsu, it is possible to negate the need for seals. But I don't think you needed them in the first place.»_

"Seriously, why couldn't you have told me this before, y'know?"

_«Didn't think it was important.»_

Or rather, Naruto didn't actually use the technique that much, other than right after he left the Academy. And he only used it once in a way sufficiently… interesting.

"I still can't really use it in front of others, can I?"

_«Why do you say that?»_

"Well, it's an advantage. Something secret. And you told me to always keep stuff like my sealing secret, so it was a surprise for enemies."

_«This is just similar enough where most won't question it until it's too late. And Kakashi… well, he knows that I'm inside you. Many adults will look over a little strangeness in your particular case.»_

Naruto suddenly grinned. "Hey, Kurama? You feel everything I do, right?"

_«When I'm paying attention, yes. Why?»_

A poof of smoke erupted around them, and they were suddenly much closer to the ground. Naruto brought a paw in front of his face.

_This better?_

_«N-Naruto...»_

* * *

Kakashi slipped away as silently as he could. The Henge did not work that way. And from the rather worrying one-sided conversation he witnessed, Naruto not only had another teacher, but… well, there were very few parties it could reasonably be, and the most likely one was possibly the worst one to have.

The Naruto-sized fox was not a good sign, either. Even if it only had one tail.

"Kakashi?" The Hokage looked up. "Ah, I see. You have noticed too. Yes, I am aware. It worries me as well. Now, tell me everything you heard."

* * *

Naruto found himself eating dirt almost immediately. He may have known how Kurama looked, or more applicably, how red foxes looked, since he didn't actually want to alarm too many people if he was seen, but he certainly didn't know how to move like one.

He couldn't speak, either. Only make fox noises, which were stranger than he expected. He could yip, but that was about as close to a dog as the sounds got.

_I wish I could just give control to you for a bit._

_«I know, kit… Thank you.»_

_Still want to get used to this, though._

_«It is possible, you know.»_

_What?_

_«To switch places. The seal needs to be much looser, though.»_

_Oh…_ Naruto paused, thinking.

_«But that's for later. Now, we get some dinner.»_

Naruto looked up at the sun's position. _But it's so early!_

Kurama smiled. _«Do you really think you'll have a successful hunt if you can barely walk?»_

Naruto gave a monkey-like fox laugh. _Okay, you got me there._

 _And you'd better be pushing on that seal. I want_ something _to show Jiraiya, y'know._

* * *

Jiraiya followed the fox from a safe distance.

 _Was Minato right? Is it_ him _?_

He somehow wanted the boy to control the fox's power, but by all accounts, he had done one better. It was worrying. He could easily be manipulated, rather than friends with the beast.

But at the same time, if the boy could manage to _befriend_ a Tailed Beast… well then, peace might not be too far-fetched an idea.

If Naruto was being tricked, though… there was no way he should loosen the seal.

It was curious, though that Naruto showed none of the overwhelming power that usually came with being a Jinchuuriki. Just this odd power of his that took barely any energy at all.

The name Naruto gave to the beast… Kurama. Was it possible that a force of nature like the Kyuubi had one? Or was this just a boy giving a name to someone he liked? If it was the former, what about Naruto was so special that he was the only one to know it?

There was also the fact that Minato had given a purposefully faulty seal on the Jinchuuriki of the _Kyuubi_. The most powerful tailed beast by a wide margin. Anything less than a perfect seal… well, it wouldn't go well. It wasn't _supposed_ to go well at least. Gerotora explained that the circumstances of the sealing were rushed to begin with. Jiraiya had expected to need to immediately tighten it. He had been preparing to return to Konoha for that very reason before the Hokage had summoned him.

He wasn't sure _what_ to think now. He had heard that his godson wanted to learn sealing. But sealing was not something that was emphasized in the Academy. If it was still mentioned at all.

He was excited and a little proud that someone would want to walk in his footsteps. But that feeling was now thoroughly tempered.

* * *

It was a lot harder to hunt as a fox.

Okay, that wasn't _completely_ true. Once he got over his difficulty with movement, and realized that he could still use ninja techniques like tree walking, it was even easier to be stealthy, and stalk his prey.

But he couldn't exactly throw kunai. Easy meals like birds were right out, unless he caught them before they were in the air.

It was only when it was starting to get dark, and his stomach was protesting that Naruto finally understood what Kurama was doing.

He had always complained to Naruto that it was hard to keep him motivated with training. Ichiraku Ramen was a good motivator, but doing that every day was hard. And while Naruto really did want to get stronger, something that… abstract was hard to get excited for.

_You really want me to get good like this, don't you?_

_«Hm.»_

_You sound like Sasuke._

_«Brat.»_

_But if you like to stay like this, I want to, y'know._

_«It's a good form to evade suspicion, especially if you make yourself a little smaller than this.»_

_Okay._

_«It's also good for stealth.»_

_Sure._

_«Brat.»_

Naruto couldn't stop a grin from forming. _Whatever you say, sensei._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If people haven't noticed yet, I have translated Naruto's "dattebayo" tic as "y'know." Which is the most common actual translation, and much more appropriate than "believe it." Also, if you haven't already, you should listen to fox noises. SaveAFox on Youtube is a good channel for a variety of fox speech. (Especially excited fox speech.)


	12. Chapter 11

The one downside of the Henge was that it took chakra to maintain. This was not a particular problem for Naruto, as even though his variation took more chakra to initiate, it took even less chakra to keep up. The strain was negligible. Even better, the subconscious effort to keep it active apparently was small enough not to be disturbed in his sleep.

Sleeping on a forest floor was a lot more comfortable when you were covered in multilayered fur.

The issue was that he didn't want to get _up_.

_«Come on, kit, get up. We have more work to do.»_

Naruto groaned. "Really? Can't it wait?"

_«Grab some breakfast. I have one more lesson to teach you before your chakra training.»_

"Ugh, fine."

It only took him a few minutes to find food now that he had permission to hunt as a human, and had access to his weapons.

Still, it was a good exercise, and by the time he finished eating, he was fully awake and a lot less sore.

"So what are we doing today?"

_«People-watching.»_

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

_«You are going to sneak into the village, and watch people.»_

"Yeah, I got that. Why?"

_«If you know how people look, you can create a believable, original disguise without the risk of copying someone. If you know how they act, you can avoid suspicion. Unless someone is actively spying, you can avoid detection completely.»_

Naruto frowned. "Yeah, but this is a _ninja_ village. Everyone is spying."

There was a huff. _«Less than you'd think. And besides, it's good practice for when you learn more… mundane ways to disguise yourself.»_

"Okay, okay. I already _know_ how everybody acts, though."

_«Not when they don't know you're there. Make shadow clones. Sneak in as a fox. Turn into a mouse or something. Nobody expects something they don't believe is possible.»_

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. But if I get caught, this is _totally_ your fault, y'know."

* * *

Kurama was right. While Naruto already had a very good idea of what his classmates were like, since they had gotten used to his presence over the years of contact, the villagers were not like this. It was… alarming to see just how differently people held themselves, their faces, actions… even the way they walked was different.

And there was just so much _variety_ – something that Kurama made sure to point out to him. Nobody looked "normal." It was the sure sign of something being wrong. Or the sign of a novice shinobi. Naruto actually noticed a few of those after a few hours of observation.

 _«The art of a disguise»_ Kurama told him, _«Is to be just interesting enough that you avoid suspicion.»_

Someone walked by that caught Naruto's immediate attention. Most people in the village he had some sort of vague memory of. At least the interesting ones. This man, though, was not of the forgettable type.

He sported long, ragged white hair, and an odd sort of forehead protector that certainly wasn't listed when they were introduced in the Academy. It was wider than the standard, and irregularly shaped, with little horns on the sides, and jarringly, had the kanji for "oil" on it. And his personality was certainly… interesting.

He was loud, grandstanding, and while Naruto was used to perverts, even fairly open ones like Kakashi, this man didn't even have to speak to a girl to make Naruto uncomfortable by proxy. His eyes and grin left nothing to imagination. Even civilians, who Naruto had come to understand as the least observant people in the world, were repulsed, and many even overcame their general respect and fear of shinobi to shout him out of their establishments.

And then he looked directly at Naruto.

His tiny mouse heartbeat skyrocketed and he slipped around a corner and quickly turned into a rock.

_What was that?_

His glance had looked almost casual, but there was something behind those eyes that was so incredibly _focused_.

A moment later, a hand clamped around the rock.

"Neat trick. Let's talk somewhere else."

The voice was quiet, and he found himself tucked into a pocket.

Only the conspicuous absence of any killing intent stopped Naruto from immediately turning back into a 12 year old ninja boy. He even sometimes felt that from _civilians_ when they found him out. Or noticed him at all. He felt a little from his classmates whenever he inevitably annoyed them with his pranks. But he felt nothing from him.

He was suddenly tossed down on some grass, which he took as an indication that he should no longer be a rock.

Naruto wasn't hurt from the fall whatsoever, but felt distinctly embarrassed at his spreadeagled pose.

He did catch the look of mild surprise on the man's face, though.

"Nice work, kid. Not an illusion I'd expect from a genin. Rocks don't have chakra, though."

Naruto grumbled. "I _know._ I can't suppress it."

"More importantly, mice don't act like that. So, why would a ninja of Konoha spy on his own people?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You mean like the ANBU?"

The man smiled. "I like you. But you're no ANBU. So what were you doing?"

This was not the same man who was leering so openly at anything female that passed by. Naruto pointed at his forehead protector. "Are you a Konoha ninja? I haven't seen a headband like that."

He grinned wider. "You don't know who I am?"

With a poof of smoke, Jiraiya was suddenly towering above him, standing on a giant toad. "I am the Sage of the Great Toads of Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya the Toad Sage!"

He struck a pose. It was exaggerated and dorky.

Naruto blinked, trying to hide his surprise. _Wait, Jiraiya?_

Something in the goofy pose stuck Naruto oddly.

He looked directly into Jiraiya's eyes. "Pervy Sage."

His arms dropped from his outlandish pose, and his toad disappeared into smoke. "Really, kid?"

 _How is this guy somehow the biggest idiot in the country_ and _a genius at the same time?_

_«I can never tell with you, kit.»_

_What?_

_«Nothing.»_

_Still, the Hokage trusts this guy._ "So, uh… you know seals and stuff?"

Jiraiya's entire demeanor relaxed, yet his eyes were much more… searching. "I might know a few things. What about you?"

Naruto shifted a little. "Just how to make exploding tags, and storage scrolls. Nothing that special."

"That's as far as most bother. I assume you want to take things further?"

"Yeah."

"So who was your teacher? If you self-taught yourself exploding tags, you shouldn't have all your limbs right about now."

Naruto glanced at his stomach nervously.

Jiraiya waved it off. "Nevermind that. Anything else I should know?"

"Well, I did things properly. Learned what things did instead of just copying stuff."

Jiraiya nodded. "And just how did you do that? As far as I remember, Konoha's library was still rather lacking in the subject."

"My teacher."

Jiraiya wasn't sure what to think, but carefully concealed that fact from the boy in front of him. Hiruzen had told him of the boy's interest in sealing, which was a wonderful excuse for him to come and make sure Naruto was handling the fox properly.

But he was starting to understand why the Hokage's message felt so much like he was hiding things from his student. Jiraiya would probably not have believed him.

"So, what do you want to get out of the sealing arts?"

Naruto looked up, a feigned look of calm on his face. If Jiraiya hadn't been a master at infiltration and "people skills", it might have even worked. "What do you mean?"

"What made you so interested in the most fiddly shinobi art there is? A person you admired? A skill that was too awesome to miss out on? Come on, everybody has something like that."

"I, uh… want to make my own seals."

"Why?"

Naruto looked down for a moment. "There's… someone really important to me. If I can learn to make a certain seal, then..."

His hand suddenly clenched into a fist. "Okay, screw all this. I have to tell you anyway since I can't do anything without the key anyway."

Jiraiya frowned slightly. This was exactly what he had been worried about, but he still needed the boy talking, so he said nothing.

"Kurama-"

"Who is Kurama?"

"That's his name."

Jiraiya already had heard the boy talking to him. But it was good to maintain appearances, and it was also useful to know exactly how much he was willing to say.

"So Kurama's stuck in me. He can see and feel what's going on, but he can't _do_ anything."

He certainly _could,_ though. That was the worrying part. "Have you used his power before? His chakra?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not yet. He was gonna train me later to use it without getting angry like him, but we didn't do that yet."

 _A backup plan?_ No, that didn't make much sense, either.

"But anyway, I really didn't like that he didn't get to do, like _anything._ At first, I just wanted the seal off. But people wouldn't really trust him. And I'm not strong enough where people would think I can handle him."

_Does he know more of Minato's plan?_

"So I thought, maybe I could make a seal that only lets us _push_ chakra to each other, without either of us being able to _take_ any. So it would have to be like, uh, a gift or something."

_Interesting._

"And then I thought if there was a way to make his chakra go _outside_ my body, he could have a body of his own without, um… killing me, y'know."

Jiraiya tensed, and this time Naruto noticed.

"Hey, that stuff would still be controlled by the other seal, and it would have to go through my body. So if it really got dangerous I could shut it down. So it makes people less nervous."

It didn't matter how controlled it was. The Kyuubi was the Kyuubi. Not many people would just accept that Naruto wanted it to roam free. It was hard enough for them to accept Naruto himself as the container.

There was also an additional problem. "Sorry, kid, but a seal like that is impossible."

Naruto froze, then looked at his feet. "Oh." He looked back up. "Why?"

"Each of those concepts are possible, with a little work and ingenuity. Combined, they represent what would easily be an entire life's worth of work. Maybe several. The complexity of a seal gets more and more unmanageable the more you ask it to do. Not to mention that it has to contain one of the most singularly powerful forces in the world."

Slowly, a smile came back to Naruto's face. "So, the first part is still fine? The 'gift' seal?"

Jiraiya gave him an uncomfortable smile. "I suppose."

The smile's intensity increased. "You're a seal master, right? So you can help me with it?"

The sage immediately frowned. "I'm not going to spend over three months of constant work just to add _more_ anxiety to my life." He softened slightly at Naruto's look. "Look, kid, I get that you trust the fox. Even _I_ can see that the beast isn't acting as murderous as he usually does. But this isn't something I can just hope for the best with."

Naruto sighed.

"Okay, listen. I'll teach you all you want to know about sealing, as long as you promise me two things. One, that you don't activate an untested seal without me looking over it."

"Well, duh."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and restrained himself from retorting. " _Two_ , even if you complete a satisfactory replacement, I must have good reason to believe that the Kyuubi won't immediately escape while we actually perform the replacement."

Naruto frowned again. That didn't seem likely, at least in the short timeframe he was aiming for. Trust wasn't easily gained even with normal ninja, let alone a formerly murderous force of nature.

"So, uh… what if we put another seal around the place that makes it impossible to gather chakra? Wouldn't that work?"

"You know about chakra suppression seals?"

Naruto shrugged. "Kurama just said seals could do pretty much anything. So that's a real thing they can do?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath. "You, kid, are absolutely _infuriating_ , and also exactly the type of mind that will go far in sealing. Unfortunately, such a seal applies to everyone equally within the area. And it is impossible to apply seals without chakra."

"Can't you, um… gather the chakra outside the seal, then go inside the seal and release it?"

Jiraiya really didn't care for this particular conversation. It was making him look a lot less competent than he actually was.

"Yes, I suppose that would be possible, if the suppression seal was modified from the normal combat variety."

Naruto's grin returned with a vengeance, and his body relaxed in a way that almost made Jiraiya insulted, as if he wasn't dangerous enough to be a threat. You weren't supposed to trust someone that fast. He was an _S-class ninja,_ damn it!

"All right, kid, you got me. But _you_ have to do all the work for it."

Naruto beamed. "All right! So what are you gonna teach me first?"


	13. Chapter 12

Just because Jiraiya had been completely and thoroughly outmaneuvered didn't mean he was going to give up. Naruto was going to be an awesome apprentice. And he _did_ say that when the Kyuubi was going to train him in using his chakra, he was allowed to watch.

Naruto still kept calling him Pervy Sage, though.

"Now, before we get straight into sealing, there is one ninjutsu that I want to teach you, that has many connections to the sealing arts. Not only is it very useful on its own, but if you take some of its principles to heart, you may eventually be able to apply simple enough seals with a touch of chakra."

Naruto's attention was now thoroughly focused. If he was going to be a speedy fighter like his father was…

"All right. So what is it?"

"It's called the Summoning Technique. Let me demonstrate. Watch closely." He bit his thumb, then smeared the blood against his left palm, before making a few hand signs and pressing his blood-smeared palm against the ground. Seal script spread out from the hand, written in that blood.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Naruto jumped back from the smoke. "Hey, that's the frog from earlier!"

The frog in question extended its tongue, depositing a scroll into Naruto's arms.

"The Summoning Technique is a jutsu that is almost perfect for you, Naruto. It is rare among ninja due to the large chakra cost needed for the summon to be useful in direct combat, but your chakra levels are more than capable of handling it, without crippling your own combat ability."

Something rustled in the woods, but Naruto ignored it, fully focused on his new teacher.

Jiraiya gestured towards the scroll in Naruto's arms. "That is the contract scroll of the toads. Simply sign your name in blood, then make a fingerprint impression with all the fingers of your hand."

Naruto opened the scroll, eyes skimming over all the past names as he found an empty space. He bit his thumb, and reached out.

"Grrrr."

Naruto paused. That sounded an awful lot like an irritated Kurama, but Jiraiya was looking off to the side. Naruto followed his gaze.

 _Oh, it's just him_.

There was a red fox at the edge of the clearing. Naruto recognized him, though, since he was the first fox that he had come across in the woods. And became his template for correcting the mistakes he made when transforming into a fox in general. They both left each other alone, but he sometimes saw the fox watch him hunt.

Well, his hand was going to heal soon, so he brought his thumb back to the scroll.

"Grrr."

Jiraiya snickered. "Naruto, do you know this guy?"

Naruto looked back up at his teacher. He would probably have to bite his thumb again, and the blood was drying already. "I guess?" He shrugged.

He turned his thoughts inward. _Kurama, is there something wrong with the toad contract?_

_«No. I never much liked the bastards, but they are decent, I guess.»_

Naruto put his hand down. "Oh." He looked back at Jiraiya, who was looking at him with interest. "So, um… is the contract thing really important? What happens if I do the jutsu without it?"

There was a slight frown, and he sighed. It was rather disappointing that he had yet again lost someone to pass down the contract to. "It's dangerous, kid."

"So what does it do?"

He rolled his eyes. "Theoretically, it isn't dangerous at all. Either it fails, or it succeeds and transports you to the realm of the summons that you are most compatible with. But summons… well, not all of them are _friendly,_ and in almost all cases, there will be creatures that are much more powerful, and much more _experienced_ than you. They will likely test you, and depending on the summon, you could easily die."

He looked back down at the scroll. "Oh."

_«Hey kit.»_

_Hm?_

_«Why don't we train with my chakra? Make sure the old pervert has some reassurance.»_

Naruto grinned.

"Hey, Pervy Sage! I have an idea."

* * *

Jiraiya knew what Kyuubi chakra felt like. It was thick, oppressive, and with so much concentrated _hate_ that almost anyone would classify it as pure evil.

This was not what Naruto's new chakra felt like. Not at all.

Naruto's physical changes were about what he expected. He had seen similar on Kushina. His eyes were slitted, his teeth were just a little more sharp, his whisker markings were more pronounced, and his posture got just a little more… feral.

But the chakra was… strange. It did not surround him like a cloak. It was not a dark red. It looked almost like Naruto's own yellow chakra, except just a little more orange. And rather than the heavy, oily cloak, it danced around him, barely even showing itself. It was bright. It flashed like fire. And apart from a slight narrowing of the eyes, it didn't seem to be affecting Naruto's mental state much at all.

If Jiraiya couldn't feel just how much power was radiating from the boy, he would have thought that the fox wasn't giving him much at all.

A ruse or not, it was a big indication that for now, the fox was actually playing nice.

And then Naruto took out a kunai and slashed his hand open.

Jiraiya was on him in an instant, grabbing both of his wrists and pinning him against the ground, knocking the weapon out of his hand.

"Sensei?"

"Naruto! What were you _doing_?"

Recognition flashed across his face. "Oh! Yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to see if I healed any faster now that I had more of Kurama's chakra." His eyes darted towards the hand in question. "And it worked, see?" He gave a little wave.

Jiraiya released him, and stared. The hand was still covered in blood, but the actual wound, deep as it had been, was completely missing.

Naruto wiped his hand on the dirt.

"So… can I try the jutsu?"

"Not unless you can prove to me you can fight like that. Come at me, and I'll see if you're ready."

Truthfully, Jiraiya doubted it. True, his healing factor was quite impressive, and was the one thing that didn't make him just dismiss the concept outright, but even without the Kyuubi, Naruto already had more chakra than he knew how to deal with. But that healing ability told him that the chakra that swirled around the kid in front of him might have… additional effects.

It took only a few exchanges for Naruto to understand that Jiraiya was not just a capable spy, but a capable fighter too.

It took only a few exchanges after that for Jiraiya to understand that everything about the kid was somehow enhanced by the chakra that flickered around his body. His strength, speed, endurance… everything was a grade above what it should have been.

His technique was still a little sloppy – a mix between Academy basic kata and some improvisation that made him actually pose any sort of danger, and he didn't seem to know any combat jutsu whatsoever. Which was to be expected, but it was a thought that was relevant because in everything else, he was easily chuunin level after the boost.

And then he sped up.

Jiraiya almost got hit in his surprise. He was still able to keep up, of course. But this was… _oh._

Naruto suddenly stopped, a huge grin on his face. "It worked!"

It was the shunshin. The long, slower version Naruto had been practicing. But it was about four times as fast as before. It also scaled to his new speed.

"How did you do that?" It was a good question. Naruto did not have the Sharingan. He did not have the years of experience that his father had.

"I noticed my eyes were, like, _really_ good. And I was noticing things faster when you were attacking back. So I tried my new jutsu, since I can heal really fast if something went wrong. And it _worked_!" He jogged rapidly in place, yellowish-orange chakra flashing at his feet.

Jiraiya let out a long breath. He had been fully prepared to deny Naruto his wish until he was more prepared. He had a speech ready and everything. But the Summoning Jutsu was _useful_ , and really something that would form the base of a lot of battle-ready seals. It was an important part of his training, and something, unlike seal theory, that really needed a teacher, rather than just assigning book work to the kid.

But like this… well, Naruto could fight a ninja far above his current skill quite successfully, even without any battle jutsu. Even if he couldn't handle the summons that he encountered, he would be able to run away. He would be more safe than he could have hoped. Safer than it was when he did the technique himself, certainly.

"All right. I'll teach you. But be _careful_ , you hear me?"

Naruto's grin threatened to split his face. "Yes, sensei!"

Jiraiya smiled. He hadn't even bothered to call him a pervert. "All right. You saw what I did with my blood, right? Do the same, and after you gather your chakra, make the boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram signs to mold it in the correct manner. Later, with practice, you'll learn how to mold it more precisely than that, and it will be a great lesson in sealing, but for now, your blood should do the rest."

Naruto went to bite his thumb, but Jiraiya held up a hand. "Wait. Just in case..." He reached into a pouch, and retrieved a rolled up map. "Take this. Just in case." Naruto tucked it in one of the straps he used for scrolls, but gave his teacher a questioning looks.

"Go ahead."

Jiraiya didn't tell him, but it was more… assurance than anything. If his summons did not accept him, then he would at least be able to find the way home. He didn't exactly want to tell Naruto that he was that prepared for him to fail, though.

Naruto slammed his palm onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

And with that, he disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Jiraiya sighed, fervently hoping that he did not just make a huge mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time. You can likely see why. As you can see, his chakra cloak is a lot different than normal. It's still the same power as the canon version (maybe a little less powerful, actually), but without trying to impose Kurama's will, it ends up a bit different.


	14. Chapter 13

It was an… interesting sensation, to be pulled through space. But Naruto did not have much time to dwell on things. He was sitting on a stone slab, with some worn, but interesting spiral designs.

He was also in the middle of the woods.

Woods that he recognized.

He was still in Konoha.

He looked around again.

 _Okay, maybe not actually in the village. But there's_ no way _this isn't nearby._

But there definitely weren't any summoning creatures around.

There was a sudden puff of smoke to the left of him, and he immediately fell off the stone in surprise.

"Ow, ow." Naruto stood up, brushing off dirt and leaves. But he froze as soon as he saw what was on the stone.

It was a fox. The same exact red fox as before.

"Hello?"

It stared at him for about three seconds, then simply jumped off the stone and disappeared into the woods.

He made to follow. His foot immediately was caught in rope as he was hauled unceremoniously up into the air.

Naruto groaned. This was quite possibly the most simple and easy to find trap, and he got caught in it. He reached up with a kunai and cut the rope near the knot. He landed on his feet.

A pair of eyes shone out of the forest. The fox was still waiting for him.

He started again, this time paying much more attention. Simple traps littered the path in front of him, always just out of sight.

_Pervy Sage mentioned some sort of test. I guess this is part of it._

As the Prank Master of Konoha, though, they were quite easy to avoid. And as he followed the fox in front of him, he always seemed to stay just close enough where Naruto could find him again.

The traps got harder, though. Trickier to find, redundant triggers… There was even some that he had to disable to progress instead of simply avoiding.

It was only when he just barely managed to duck a shuriken trap that he realized that this might be a bit more dangerous than he was expecting.

The fact that he hadn't even noticed the pressure trigger beneath the leaves was also a shock.

Then they got ridiculous. It became more of a test of reflexes than actual trap-finding ability. At some point, Kurama started to give him chakra.

And then he hit a wall. Metaphorically, that is. He knew how to climb regular walls. The real problems started when the traps got just a little bit too fast for him. He had to pick various weapons out of his body regularly, and without Kurama helping him heal, he would probably have bled out a long time ago.

The field in front of him, though… well, some of the traps weren't even hidden, and he knew that disabling them would be just as dangerous as running headlong in. Even with his _shunshin_ , he was unsure he would actually be fast enough to survive.

_«Think, kit.»_

That broke him out of his stupor. His oldest sensei hadn't said a single word since he arrived in this place.

 _«Stop thinking like a samurai, and think like a_ ninja _. Otherwise you'd might as well go home.»_

Naruto rolled his eyes. He had heard those words more than anything else - it was one of the first lessons that Kurama tried to hammer into his head. He was a man of _action_ and _deeds_. He was also a man of pranks and being a sneaky bastard when the mood struck him.

Getting him to treat fights like pranks was an ongoing project of Kurama's.

More importantly, it was the concept that cheating was _everything_.

It was at this point that Naruto noticed that only the _clearing_ was actually trapped. There was nothing actually keeping him walled in the test.

So he walked around it.

He walked all the way up to the fox that was waiting for him.

It gave him a short bark and vanished into the trees completely.

Naruto's stomach fell through the floor.

"I just blew it, didn't I?" He sat down on the cold grass and dirt.

He didn't quite know Jiraiya enough to really feel guilty about disappointing him. He _was_ one of the few adults that seemed to recognize him, but that seemed almost unimportant compared to how he felt about Kurama.

The thought had grown for past half hour of testing. At this point, he was pretty sure. Unless the summons that he was doing this test for only _employed_ foxes, which would be weird, the summons _were_ foxes.

Naruto loved his stomach's irritated inhabitant. He had been given stories of his real father. His mother, too. And while he loved the Hokage like a grandpa… well, Kurama was the only one who was always there. Always had time for him, even if he tended to complain about it. A lot.

_«Kit.»_

Kurama was the reason he wanted to continue practicing being a fox, even though it was a lot easier to be a person.

And he would have had _fox_ summons.

_«Naruto.»_

But he messed that up, just like he messed everything up when it was important.

 _ **«Naruto!»**_ The voice was a roar in his head. Naruto jerked his head up.

The fox was back. He was sitting patently, looking Naruto directly in the eyes.

In front of him was a scroll.

_W-what?_

Hands shaking, he opened the seal and unrolled it unsteadily.

Empty columns of ink spread across his vision. Only two of them were filled, the ink smudged and fading. But the look was unmistakable. This was a contract scroll.

He looked up uncertainly. The fox nodded.

_«Go ahead, kit.»_

Naruto bit his thumb and tried very hard to keep his heart out of his throat as he carefully wrote his name. Finally, he spread his blood to his other fingers, and made the imprint.

He looked up again. The fox sneezed.

He glanced back down at the scroll. "Right." Double-checking to make sure the "ink" was dry, he rolled it up again, and tried to give it back to the fox.

"Aaaaaaa." He pushed it back towards Naruto.

Naruto stared.

"Aaaa."

"You want me to have this?"

The fox nodded and pushed it again.

The scroll was large, and almost tall enough to reach his shoulders, but it had a strap. He put it on, feeling completely out of his depth.

The fox immediately started walking back the way he came. He walked _through_ the field, somehow disabling all the traps he passed with just teeth and paws.

Naruto followed with significant caution until he was back at the stone. He climbed uncertainly back on top of it, and before he could look back to the fox to see if he was supposed to do something else, he felt himself being wrenched through space.

"Oh thank god."

Jiraiya rushed over to check him for injuries, pausing once he noticed the scroll across his back.

"So, what sort of summons do you have?"

"Foxes."

Jiraiya surreptitiously rolled his eyes. _Of course it would be._

"So they gave you the contract scroll?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess? Is that something special? You have the one for toads."

Actually, it _was_ something special, but he wasn't going to tell Naruto that. Gama was actually the holder of the toad scroll. He just could summon him whenever.

It likely also meant that Naruto was the _only_ fox summoner at this point, and they trusted him to find others that might be worthy.

Either that, or they knew where the Kyuubi was, and that the scroll would be safest with Naruto. It was difficult to tell. Did the Kyuubi even count as a fox?

"Let's just say that you _need_ to keep that safe, no matter what."

It was possible to create another contract scroll, but costly. For the summons, that is. It was impossible to replace for a human.

Naruto looked slightly intimidated by his expression. "I should probably… go put this back in my apartment, then." He made to leave.

"It'll be safe with me here. Just don't take it on missions. And don't display it openly, unless you are prepared to teach a student of your own."

"Right." Naruto kept his face fairly neutral, but there was a glint in his eyes that both scared and excited him equally.

"So… are you ready to try summoning for real?"

Naruto smiled, and bit his thumb. This time he went through the signs much faster, and placed his palm on the ground with confidence.

There was a poof of smoke, and…

And the exact same fox stepped out.

Naruto made a face. "You again?"

The fox gave him a look.

Naruto seemed to understand exactly what he was trying to say. "Not that you aren't great or anything! I just was hoping to see what other foxes were like! Honest!"

Jiraiya was not surprised in the least to find that it was the same fox that interrupted the toad contract earlier. It was a meddling bastard, but it looked pretty much exactly like most entry-level summons. The fact that it would likely grow with Naruto was only a plus.

"So what's his name?"

Naruto stopped his one-sided argument with the summons. "What _is_ your name?"

"Aaaa."

Naruto snorted. "That's what I thought. He doesn't speak, sensei, and I'm not calling him 'Aaaa.' He's really good with traps, though."

 _«He speaks fox just fine.»_ Naruto ignored him.

Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully. It was a very "Naruto" summon. And most low-level summons weren't really useful to begin with, so it was quite the find.

"Good job, Naruto. I'll leave whatever test you went through alone." He looked up at the sun, which was close to the horizon. "We don't have the time to start on our real sealing lessons, but there's one last thing I want you to try with the Summoning Jutsu."

"Sure, what?"

"Focus _all_ your chakra into it. The golden chakra too. Everything you can."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

That was one of the few things that was emphasized in the Academy as a _terrible_ idea. If your chakra was completely depleted, well, you would die.

But with Kurama, that was pretty much impossible.

"Why? Won't that overload the jutsu?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "The Summoning Jutsu is the only jutsu that is _impossible_ to overload. Chakra and blood are the payment for the summoned creature."

_«Go ahead, kit. If you get into a fight you can't get out of, I want to know who I'm going to be fighting with.»_

"All right, if you're sure."

"Besides, I'm here to help just in case they aren't friendly."

Naruto sat down this time, gathering chakra _before_ biting his thumb. It was a long time, too, since Kurama constantly fed him more and more.

Just as it got to the point where he actually couldn't hold any more, he bit his thumb, made the signs to mold the chakra already gathered, and slammed his palm onto the ground.

Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

And reappeared two feet in front of himself.

Jiraiya gaped.

"Bullshit."


	15. Chapter 14

_«Shit. Well that's a headache and a half.»_

Naruto rubbed his own head. _Kurama?_ _What just happened?_

 _«You just summoned_ me _, and brought yourself along for the ride. It's goddamn_ confusing _to give yourself chakra, by the way.»_

Naruto paused, the implication sinking in. He didn't even bother to keep his thoughts to himself. "Wait, you're a summon?"

_«'Course I am, kit. The Sage was powerful, and he could create life, but he can't create souls. He picked a few of his friends to keep that bastard's chakra safe.»_

"Huh."

_«Worst mistake of my life, I can tell you that. Immortality isn't worth this mess.»_

"…I don't know what to say to that. Wish that could have _actually_ summoned you, though. Would save us a whole lot of trouble."

Jiraiya looked alarmed in the background.

_«And then you would die from the shock. Neither of us wants that_ _, kit.»_

"Right, yeah. Um, are there any other fox summons that are really big and stuff?"

Kurama gave a mental shrug. _«Wouldn't know. Probably. Lots of the high level kitsune are pretty long-lived, but I haven't been back there in… I don't even know. A long time. Not everybody gets powerful enough to live that long, anyway.»_

"But you're the best fox! You _have_ to know at least _one_ other fox that was as good as you were!"

 _«Kit, I barely had two tails. I didn't earn my power, other than being friends with the right person. Or maybe the wrong one. I don't even know anymore.»_ He sounded distinctly tired.

A detail stuck out to Naruto. He had heard of the Sage of Six Paths, and decided that that was who Kurama was talking about. But… "Um… so where did you get your chakra from?"

There was a flicker of annoyance. _«Not now, kit. I'll tell you later. When you're older, maybe. I don't want you worrying about it. Not when you don't need to, anyhow.»_

Naruto frowned. Was it because of Jiraiya-sensei? And why would he worry about it when it was that long ago?

 _Whatever. It's getting dark._ He stood up, and Jiraiya gave him a slightly forced smile as he waved him off home.

* * *

Jiraiya was worried about Naruto.

No, he wasn't worried about the fox. Not as much as usual, at least. Naruto's casual attitude about the potential of freeing it completely was concerning, but after several weeks of daily interaction with its chakra and the effect it had on Naruto had slowly settled much of that fear.

Naruto was a little more aggressive than normal, but Naruto had told him outright that "Kurama" was still a bit of an angry person in general, even though he still insisted that he was a good one. And he was almost inclined to believe him after the remarkable control that the genin should _not_ have at this point. If the fox was trying to control him through the chakra, he would have noticed already.

The worry was not one he expected to have for a student. Not unless they were as cold and emotionless as Orochimaru, or maybe as driven by anger and revenge. But if Naruto was either of those, Jiraiya wouldn't have accepted him as a student anyway.

It was that he was _too_ eager for training. When it came to sealing, he was studious in a way that his reports showed he certainly wasn't in school. And when he was training with Kurama's chakra, he never once took a break unless it was enforced directly by Kurama cutting off the flow of chakra. (That was certainly an interesting sight to see.) Now, both sealing and Kurama were passions for him, and he hoped that the reasons they were passions did not _exclusively_ overlap, but Naruto didn't just push himself there.

Originally, Jiraiya followed the boy to make sure he kept his promise not to practice the seals he hadn't gained mastery over and blow himself up. But as the days passed, he realized that what he saw wasn't a fluke. Naruto just _didn't let up training at all_.

The boy wasn't completely without joy or fun, of course. The owners of Ichiraku Ramen were very nice to him, and he often stopped there for lunch after training with him. Or before training, when it was Kakashi that trained him with his team. And the times he went hunting were... interesting.

It was his reactions to the villagers that tipped him off that something was odd. Of course, Jiraiya was mad enough, watching how Naruto was treated. But it wasn't like he could attack civilians. And getting publicly attached to the boy could only attract attention that might get… a little too close to the truth of the matter. Attach the right sorts of names to the right people, and Naruto would get a bounty on his head in no time.

But he had read all about Naruto from the file Hiruzen-sensei gave him. He was quite the prankster when he was younger.

Now, though, whenever he got that sort of glint in his eye, instead of immediate but relatively harmless retaliation, he darted into some sort of nearby training field and got it out of his system in more… conventionally productive ways.

Also a lot more destructive ways, considering. There were some prank-like executions in how he trained, but they were certainly not fit for a lighthearted jab, even if a shinobi was the target.

He didn't play with other kids, or even socialize with other genin from his class, either. While he knew a lot of them _did_ avoid Naruto due to their parents, he thought that a few at least tolerated the boy.

At the same time, some of the uses he was finding for relatively simple jutsu were quite creative.

And then Naruto got _serious_ about training, and decided to just make fifty clones, spamming _shunshin_ until he stopped hitting trees.

The real one did that toned down version that just made him really fast and tried to pop his clones in passing.

It really was a huge difference, without the fox's chakra. Naruto was at least eight times slower, and barely reacted in time to hit any of his clones with kunai. Not to mention the clones themselves would periodically blur in and out of existence. More of them died by hitting trees than from kunai.

Yet when he had that chakra, he could prove an adequate sparring partner for Jiraiya himself.

Well, without using any ninjutsu. Or sealing. It still was impressive for a genin, though.

But Naruto seemed to understand how much his clones would help him with training. It made Jiraiya almost envious of his chakra reserves.

He was less envious of the mental backlash Naruto seemed to get after every batch of this sort of training, but at least Naruto had enough forethought to only do this type of training at the end of the day, so he could sleep it off.

Or maybe it was just _Kurama_ that had the sense. He noticed many instances that he seemed to pause, then return to training with a completely different angle. And Naruto _did_ call him sensei.

And when he was too tired from his own training, he would immediately start on seal work.

Jiraiya almost stopped him the first time he brought out a scroll and ink, but it seemed that he just took the time to review the notes from his lessons, and practice his calligraphy.

He was also almost tempted after these weeks to make sure he went lighter on himself, but… he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Naruto was the spitting image of his father, after all. And it wasn't the fact that his father was almost as studious. Minato was at least reasonably socially active in addition to his training.

It was the fact that it wasn't exactly going to be long before some ninja that had seen his father in action would notice that his son looked pretty much _exactly_ like him. It was bad enough that he was training the boy, and people might make the association just from that.

Jiraiya sighed. Naruto needed to be ready for that. Which meant he needed good jutsu. Jutsu like the Rasengan and maybe even the Flying Raijin if he could figure out how his student had managed it. He needed to be _ready_ for the people that wanted to kill him.

And if he could trust what Naruto was saying about the fox, relying on his massive chakra wasn't going to cut it.

* * *

Kurama smiled in his slightly damp cell. Naruto only gained the ability when they were working as one, but he could always feel the intentions of those around him. And if what he felt about the Toad Sage's mental state was correct, he might actually get off his ass and get somewhere with Naruto in a reasonable amount of time. This time around, they might actually be _ready_. This time around…

This time around, maybe nobody had to die.

Well, other than his enemies, of course. They could go to hell.

* * *

"Kakashi, I think it's time for a real mission."

Naruto looked at Sakura with surprise. It wasn't as if she was _wrong,_ of course. Sasuke's chakra-heavy jutsu no longer tired him out nearly as much, all of them had enough chakra control to fight on a river, and Sakura herself was getting remarkably accurate with her poisoned senbon, even if she didn't quite have her healing jutsu in a state where anyone would be comfortable with it being used on them.

It was more that Sasuke was the one that said that practically every training session.

Kakashi looked at Naruto.

"Yeah, I'm kinda getting bored of _just_ training."

He gave a little smile. "Of course, I would be happy to give you another D-"

" **NO!** "

He chuckled at the sight of all three of his students with the exact same mixture of horror and anger on their faces. "I suppose I could convince the Hokage that you three are ready."

Naruto punched the air. "Yes!"

"Though that all depends if there is a C-rank available. If there isn't we _will_ be doing a mission regardless of how exciting it is."

Naruto groaned. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sakura nodded. "I suppose that's fair."

"There will be many missions that you will not enjoy. And there may not always be some other team that is available to take it in your stead. So as of now, we will continue to take missions."

Naruto gave Kakashi another pained noise. "So it's back to D-ranks again?"

"Now, now. We aren't going to take a mission every day. Something like once or twice a week will be more than enough. We have to give other genin a chance for some easy income, after all."

Naruto glared. "And training."

Kakashi chuckled. "And training, I suppose."

The trip to the mission assignment desk was short, and it took even less time to convince the Hokage that they were ready for a more difficult mission. And all three of them were well aware that while C-rank missions were certainly more of a real mission than D-ranks, they weren't exactly the romanticized missions that were passed around in gossip among the village.

Anything was better than menial chores, even when they were presented in a mission format.

The actual client, though…

_Damn it. Why do we have to get the drunk?_


	16. Chapter 15

Naruto hated drunks. It wasn't necessarily the fact that they smelled overpoweringly like alcohol. It was the fact that they smelled overpoweringly like _cheap_ alcohol. The "good" stuff was annoying, but at least it wasn't… this.

And it seemed that this Tazuna had a similar opinion about the three of them being kids. He also seemed to have a rather inflated opinion of himself just for being a guy that built bridges.

All in all, he was a very punchable man. But he was the client, and they were supposed to protect him. Not punch him. No matter how annoying. Even if he deserved it.

At this point, Naruto was almost _hoping_ they got attacked by bandits, just to shut this stupid civilian up. At least the civilians in the village respected shinobi, even if they _were_ kids.

Well, not _Naruto_ , but that was more because they were afraid of him. And even though it sucked _balls_ , at least he understood why.

This was the first time that Naruto left the country, though. So that was exciting.

They were only about a half mile out (at an excruciatingly slow civilian pace) when he was struck with the feeling that _something_ was wrong.

_Something smells off about that water._

_«It hasn't rained.»_

Naruto stiffened, and glanced at his other teammates. Either they hadn't noticed, or they were better at hiding their nonchalance. He glanced at Kakashi, and they made eye contact briefly.

"You three stay with the client. I'm going to scout up ahead."

_What? Why would he-?_

_«He has a plan, idiot. Or he's testing you.»_

Naruto tried to catch his teammates' eyes again, but it didn't work.

_Grr. Why do they have to be this clueless?_

_«That's rich, coming from you. I highly doubt that many Jounin sensei would teach fresh genin to be_ this _paranoid. In peacetime, that is. You got me. Lucky you.»_

Naruto rolled his eyes at the sarcasm. _I like having you around, Kurama, even though I don't like you being trapped. So what do we do?_

_«Think it out. Right now, you have surprise on these ninja. The enemy ninja have surprise on your two teammates. Which is better?»_

_Oh._

Naruto straightened up and tapped his teammates on their shoulders. "Enemy behind," he whispered.

It almost certainly gave away to the ninja behind them that they no longer had the element of surprise, but it was better than them _actually_ having it. It wasn't like Naruto was their only target.

And since Kurama made it very clear that he wasn't going to interfere unless Naruto was actually in danger of _dying_ , he wasn't quite confident in his own abilities to say that he was worth two of his teammates.

That was a stupid line of thinking, even if he _was_ better.

And besides, he worked best when he had time to set traps beforehand. Direct combat... well, he could barely match Sasuke when they sparred. Given how much time Naruto spent training, it wasn't that great of a showing.

He _had_ been using the time to charge a few more explosive tags, though. And attach them to his kunai under the pretense of _hiding_ the act of scratching an itch.

His little sessions with Jiraiya were already paying off.

So when he heard the slight sound of water dripping off a pair of shinobi, two explosives were already in flight.

As were a buttload of shuriken. And some poisoned needles.

The three of them stared at the two _very_ dead ninja.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Uh… whoops? I guess that was kinda overkill, wasn't it?"

"No, Naruto. You only limit your arsenal when your supply itself is limited. Or if stealth is required."

Kakashi was back.

The bridge builder didn't even glance at him. He seemed rather transfixed at the two bodies that were quite suddenly… not very intact.

"Or if the targets have important information."

Naruto walked over to the bodies. He grimaced. Hunting was something he had done for years, and he was used to blood. He had even hunted with explosives one day, to very poor results. And with Kakashi's substitution jutsu, he had even seen an approximation of human death.

It was not pleasant to see it for real. Not at all.

That didn't stop him from recovering his kunai, though. They were the expensive, _good_ type that weren't damaged by the level of explosion he had been using.

And they were expensive.

He looked at the forehead protectors and frowned. "Hey, sensei?"

Kakashi appeared beside him. "Hm?"

"These look like Kiri nin, but we aren't at war. What's going on?"

"It is possible, but unlikely, that they were hired on a mission directly opposed to ours. It is more likely that they are missing-nin – ninja that have abandoned their village for mercenary work."

Naruto made a face and continued to collect his teammates' weapons from the bodies as well.

"Unfortunately, due to the quick response from you three, we don't know their actual target. Were they targeting us as Konoha ninja, or..." He glanced meaningfully at Tazuna. "Were they targeting our client?"

Tazuna started to sweat profusely.

Naruto stood up, distributing his teammates' weapons back to them. Sakura made a face at the blood. Sasuke just nodded in recognition.

"Sorry about that, sensei."

Kakashi waved them off. "You didn't know the plan. And you certainly don't have the experience required to _think_ of such a plan." He stared meaningfully at the bridge builder. "We do, however, have another source of information."

Tazuna gulped.

"It is one thing to be unaware of the difficulty of a mission. But something tells me there is more to it than that. You _do_ know how serious it is to _lie_ to a ninja village, do you not?"

The belligerent drunk was almost unrecognizable from what he was before. "A-all right. I do have something that I should tell you."

* * *

"This is clearly beyond the scope of the original mission's classification. Not to mention the difference in pay. If we were to turn back now and leave you here, nobody back in Konoha would question our decision."

"But I-"

Kakashi looked over the rest of his team, and the three rather unimpressed looks on their faces.

"Though I suppose if there are no objections, we could also be convinced to continue. If, that is, we are compensated for an appropriate _B-rank_ mission."

Tazuna quailed. "But I already told you-"

"You may find that unlike some other ninja villages, Konoha is quite reasonable with those who cannot pay immediately. I'm sure you will do fine if this bridge of yours is as successful as you say."

"A-all right. Thank you, ninja-san."

"But if I find that you are keeping more from us, I will be… less than enthused."

"I-I understand."

* * *

The boat ride over to the Land of Waves was uncomfortably silent, but Naruto knew better than to complain. The ninja they fought earlier may have been… well, a little too easy, and his first instinct was to completely dismiss any possibility of future attackers being any better, but Kakashi had reminded them that not only was Gato rich enough to hire much better ninja, Kiri nin in particular were perfectly at home on the water. Just like Konoha nin were in the trees. That puddle disguise would be a lot more effective in a land of frequent rain.

So he kept his mouth shut, and he got the first glimpse of exactly what he was protecting.

It didn't excuse Tazuna's lying or drunkenness, but Naruto could kinda understand his arrogance. The bridge, even only a quarter complete, was damn impressive. A lot more impressive than what was implied on the mission brief.

Naruto might have been impressed by the bridge, and definitely agreed that it needed to be completed, but he still didn't like the man very much.

Fortunately, they made it all the way to the docks without any incident.

Tazuna still looked worried, though. "I still have to make it home in one piece… they have to realize that those two haven't made it back yet. And if they didn't manage to complete their mission..."

Kakashi grimaced. "Yes, it is worrisome. However, keep in mind that I am a jounin. Our mission may be the absolute _worst_ –"

The bridge builder cringed.

"–but we will complete it successfully." His eyes passed over his genin team. Not only were Sakura and Sasuke trained far more than practically any peacetime genin, but there weren't many ninja trained by _Sannin_.

If they weren't that good, he would have turned around immediately after hearing the name "Gato." No matter what the protests were, or how "noble" the mission was. It could have been reassigned. Gato may be civilian, and idiotic in the ways of ninja, but he was a genius when it came to the civilian world, and dangerous in that world. Also dangerous in the depth of his pockets.

And that bridge did indeed look as important as Tazuna described it to be.

But as they walked through the wilderness just outside the coastal town, Naruto turned his attention inward instead.

_You've been quiet lately._

_«You've been busy lately. And pay attention.»_

_I know, but… all right. I have an idea, though._

_«_ Later _, brat.»_

Naruto shivered, and there was a rustle in the bushes. _Oh._

In one single fluid (and panicked) motion, a kunai left his fingers.

The entire team was instantly at attention. The sound of a knife against flesh was unmistakable. But…

Sasuke looked up. "It's just a rabbit."

Sakura was there a second later. "Ugh. That's disgusting."

Naruto's face lit up. "Lunch!"

His two teammates stared at him like he was insane. But when he picked up the actual rabbit (and to his teammates' horror, finished it off without even pausing), he frowned.

Naruto glanced at questioningly at Kakshi. They both tensed.

"Sakura. Sasuke. Be ready."

Naruto didn't even bother sealing the dead rabbit away, tossing it aside into the grass without even glancing at it. He was far too busy scanning the road, the trees, the river…

"Get down!" Kakashi saw it first, and the three of them pulled Tazuna down with him while Kakashi simply dodged as a gigantic sword flew past at neck level.

"Well well. Look what we have here. You must be even more desperate for money than I am if these little brats were all you could get."

_What?_

A man was now standing calmly on top of the sword, which was now stuck firmly in a tree.

_I didn't even see him move._

Naruto's stomach turned.

_Kakashi can take this guy._

... _Right?_


	17. Chapter 16

Naruto _hated_ this. He knew that he wouldn't be useful in this fight. Despite his years of training, he was nothing close to the level of power either his jounin-sensei or that missing-nin was putting out. Sure, he had seen a bit of Jiraiya's taijutsu before. He had sparred with him often with Kurama's power. But he had never seen him use ninjutsu, other than that summoning technique, and now he had a sort of idea why.

But this wasn't about beating Zabuza one-on one. Kakashi looked like he was having _trouble._ And… well…

 _«You're not in mortal danger, kit. And you aren't going to_ put _yourself in mortal danger, either, just so you can steal some power.»_

 _But that's not_ fair _! Kakashi-_

_«Is not my problem.»_

Naruto gaped.

 _«Look._ I _don't care about pretty much anyone except you. And I happen to have a bit of a dim view of most of the bastards in your village.»_

In Kakashi's case, it was mainly that he had decided that simply _watching_ Naruto as he grew up and making sure that the constant abuse didn't kill him was a perfectly acceptable way of honoring his father's memory. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. He had decided early on that turning Naruto against practically everyone he still liked was a bad idea, and was unlikely to keep him alive, anyway.

_But I can't just do nothing! Kakashi-_

Was suddenly caught in a water prison.

Kurama paused. _«All right, kit, I'll give you a hint. Just a small one. You_ can _help. Just use your brains. Not brute strength. If you really want to know, this is exactly why I refuse to give you my power. You get really lazy with it. Even when fighting Jiraiya. Remember your training.»_

Panic started to rise as Kakashi began to visibly run out of oxygen, and the copy of Zabuza advanced.

_Um, um…_

_«Have you learned_ nothing _? Plant explosive tags on your clones! Transform into shuriken! Seriously, all you have to do is get past a single clone._ Think _!»_

Naruto's eyes shot open. _Oh._

He briefly chastised himself for forgetting nearly half his lessons, then turned to his teammates.

"Sasuke! Listen up. There's something I need to tell you."

"I have a plan."

* * *

Only the thought that the client might still be in danger kept Naruto walking.

Of course, he had a vague idea of how powerful Kakashi was when he set the bell test for them. But that concept just flew right out the window and disintegrated in front of him.

He had just seen the real power of an elite ninja. After Kakashi started using the Sharingan, it was… astounding. Even Zabuza started to take things "seriously." He wasn't quite sure about what to feel about it. And Jiraiya was likely even _stronger_ , if his reputation actually meant anything. The jutsu being tossed around there… it was mind-boggling.

But they had pulled through. Kakashi was even winning at the end there.

Then they got rescued by that hunter-nin. There was something… off about him, but almost _all_ of his sensei talked about how ninja went a little crazy sometimes. And that ninja had to have been almost _his_ age. And he looked almost like ANBU.

Now his constant training seemed a hell of a lot more important. Especially now that he realized that it wasn't just _his_ life that he had to worry about. No matter what Kurama said.

Of course, Kakashi had NOT been happy that they were facing an opponent this… notorious, especially since it was a bit too much for even a _B-ranked_ mission _._ But Kurama had constantly hammered into his head that there was _always_ something that went sideways. Like, it didn't happen every time, but often enough where he should expect it to happen and prepare for the worst. He had been skeptical, but apparently, Kurama was right. As always.

_«Well, you have at least a week for training and preparation.»_

Naruto frowned. _Why only a week? The bridge didn't look_ that _close to being finished._

_«Zabuza is still alive.»_

He froze suddenly, causing the rest of the group to stop and look at him, silently asking him for an explanation.

"Zabuza is still alive."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid, Naruto. Didn't you hear what Kakashi-sensei said about hunter-nin?"

Naruto looked at his teammate, panicking slightly at having to explain Kurama, before a sudden realization leaped into his head. "Sakura, you use a lot of senbon, right? Why not use your poison on something like shuriken or kunai?"

She frowned. "Senbon can more easily pierce deep enough for the poison to be injected into major arteries. It is much more fast-acting."

"But senbon by themselves aren't really that lethal, are they?"

"Naruto, Kakashi already checked his vitals. And besides, I've read that if you are accurate enough, you can hit vital points that are _very_ lethal, poison or no."

Kakashi suddenly cursed under his breath. He was practically swaying on his feet due to the absolute exhaustion from his technique, but regardless, he should have caught it earlier. "No, Naruto is right. Senbon can do more than just kill. And now that I think about it, they were not acting properly. Hunter-nin _never_ carry a body. Destroying it on the spot is more efficient, and negates the ability for them to be intercepted in transit. If you hit the correct spots… it is possible, if very draining to the recipient, to feign a very convincing death."

Sakura gasped.

Tazuna paled. "So, that means..."

"Zabuza is likely still alive. Fortunately, it will still take him time to recover." He took a deep breath. "Time I badly need to recover as well. The Sharingan takes a lot out of me."

"So what do we do now?"

Kakashi nodded at their client. "Get him safe, just in case. And then, training."

* * *

Kakashi was not teaching them anything new. And for once, none of Team Seven were complaining. They were at the skill level that anything that would actually have any use would take more than a week to be usable in combat. And they knew this. No, they were drilling the basics. Sakura was working on her accuracy. Sasuke was still working on increasing his stamina, so he didn't run out of chakra if the fight lasted for more than a few minutes.

And Naruto, on Kurama's instruction, asked Kakashi for a good place to train away from the others. That earned him a raised eyebrow, but the request was accepted regardless.

Basically, Kurama was going to push things a little on the chakra training.

He _was_ going to trap the entire bridge area to oblivion, but the actual workers were civilians, and probably wouldn't feel comfortable being surrounded by explosives. Or hidden knives. Or even smoke bombs. He was going to ask his new fox summon for help, but he couldn't do much about the fact that their likely encounter space for the enemy ninja was also frequented by civilians. That cut out more than three-quarters of his trap options.

He _did_ end up trapping the builder's actual house, though. Everything except the front door.

And he told all the family about it. They were a lot more receptive to the idea after he explained himself. He _still_ had to keep things non-lethal, just in case.

The kid that lived there was infuriatingly depressed, though. He didn't even care that they were ninja, or clearly knew what they were doing.

He didn't even respect _Kakashi_ , and he was a jounin.

But he could kinda understand how the kid got so messed up. He still had a little trouble dealing with human death, and it was his _job_ to do that. If it had been someone like Teuchi…

Okay, his response would probably be to rip whoever did it to shreds or die trying, but he had the _training_ for that. This kid was a civilian. And barely even Academy age besides.

Naruto's chest got uncomfortably hot.

_«All right, kit. This feels like the limit.»_

_I wonder if Kakashi'll let me try to assassinate this Gato guy._

_«Later. Think about it after I'm not reinforcing your desire to murder people.»_

Naruto looked down at himself.

_Wow. Okay then._

He didn't just have chakra claws now. He had actual ones. He wasn't even using the transformation jutsu.

Unfortunately, the little flashes of light dancing around him were a lot more frequent. Stealth was not exactly an option.

_«If stealth was an option, you wouldn't need my power in the first place.»_

_Right._

Stealth _was_ an option, technically. If Kurama was actually in control of the chakra after he gave it to his partner, or theoretically, if Naruto learned to manage it like a Bijuu, he would be able to integrate it with no visual effects. That was the main reasons fully integrated Jinchuuriki were able to induce partial transformations without a chakra cloak.

But that was irrelevant at the moment.

_«Now, taijutsu with claws is significantly different than with fists.»_

Naruto grinned at a new possibility. "And with Henge?"

_«Steel can block better. Without my chakra to deflect blows or negate injury, you won't do well. Not without significantly more skill. Or speed. Though, before we start, I do recall you saying that you had an idea? Back in the boat?»_

"Oh, yeah! Well, remember how Jiraiya said I can't both project your chakra _and_ make that gifting-stuff seal?"

 _«Of course.»_ Kurama still didn't quite expect Naruto to succeed with either objective. Naruto did the impossible all the time, but it was better not to hold out too much hope. That only increased the pain and anger later on when it failed.

It didn't mean he had _no_ hope. It was just significantly measured.

"Well, you know my shadow clones? They make copies of _me_ , right? And they're nothing but chakra. So if I can make one _only_ using your chakra…" He trailed off with a grin.

_«Unlikely. That jutsu creates a clone of the one who shapes the chakra, not the one who provides it.»_

Naruto's smile didn't fade. "Well, I'll just have to change the jutsu, then."

_«Not right now, you're not. If you get in another fight with Zabuza, you'll need to be ready.»_

"I thought you said my life wasn't in danger last time."

Really, Kurama should have seen this question coming. He had held back in the previous fight not because Zabuza was not dangerous, but because he knew that last time, Naruto had fared just fine, even without his assistance.

Now, he was stuck. He had trained Naruto in what he considered to be the most important shinobi arts of deception and creativity, traits he had underutilized before…

Well, this time, he would be much more prepared when things got serious.

The fact remained, though, that while he was possibly the best prepared Genin there could possibly be, he was still a Genin. Not even the "technically Genin" he had been in his last life. An actual one, who deserved to still be one. And Kurama had no intention of pushing Naruto to such an extent that would create results like Haku. Or Danzo's ROOT.

And so his skills would likely _still_ not be sufficient for this mission. And so he would need the power boost to break out of Haku's mirrors.

"Kurama?"

He decided to go with mostly truth.

_«His accomplice is very skilled. Very likely above your level. While Kakashi can at least hold off Momochi Zabuza, Haku is an opponent that cannot be underestimated.»_

"Haku?"

Kurama cursed his tongue, which was far freer than he had expected. It was getting harder and harder to separate the two Narutos in his mind, despite the clear skill differences. _«Never mind that. His name is of little concern. You will likely have to fight him, and you do not have the power to counter his abilities. Even though he is likely to aim for non-lethal damage, there is still a very real possibility of death.»_

"But if Sakura or Sasuke help–"

_«It is not a matter of help, or even trickery this time. I have taught you how to think like a ninja, which will win you many fights. But in certain situations, like this fight on the bridge, where damage to the bridge is unwise, you have no elemental jutsu, and your opponent outclasses you heavily in certain attributes, especially speed, power is the one factor that you will be able to use to win.»_

Naruto sighed. "All right, you win."

_«I still expect you to only ask me for power when it becomes absolutely necessary. But I cannot take the chance that your possible failure would be permanent.»_

"Right." Naruto scratched the back of his head, momentarily surprised when the claws actually caught in his hair. He brought his hand up to his face, examining it. "This just hasn't really… sunk in, you know? That I could actually _die_. Or that I might kill someone else." He put the hand down. "Maybe even someone who doesn't completely deserve it."

"I guess I can just make sure that doesn't happen as often as I can."


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The curse of writing so close to canon is that canon events play out similarly, and I hate writing scenes that copy canon material. If I were to rewrite this story in its entirety, with more planning beforehand, I would have chosen to change something significant enough early on to avoid the Wave arc entirely (even to the point of changing his original team), and only use background references to the events that would have happened away from the focus of the actual narrative. As such, while things have changed, and this isn't a simple mass of time skips, I have skipped most of the climactic battle. Sorry if this is disappointing to any of you.

Kakashi was distinctly frustrated. He hadn't been able to observe any of Naruto's training. Worse, he couldn't even blame him. Unlike his teammates, Naruto seemed to instinctively understand that this was technically enemy territory.

Or perhaps that was another learned behavior from his worrisome teacher.

Regardless of the source, it was at least useful.

Kakashi had learned early on that Naruto had a truly astounding disguising jutsu. Whether a legitimate Jinchuuriki power or a lucky modification of the academy Henge he wasn't entirely sure, but given its effectiveness and strange flexibility, he was strongly suspecting the former.

The fact remained that if Naruto actually wanted to get somewhere unnoticed, he got there unnoticed. He was almost tempted to summon his tracking hounds, but besides being a terrible waste of chakra that he really needed to use to recover his strength, he was almost sure that the only thing that differentiated the fox-Naruto and an actual fox was the presence of chakra.

If he even kept to one form like that. He was almost sure he didn't in this case.

He would have needed a sensor to find him, not a conventional tracker.

Hopefully, the enemy wouldn't have hired one. It didn't entirely make sense for a man like Gato to do so, or even understand shinobi enough to know why one would be important, but he still worried.

At least he had a good idea about what he would be keeping so secret.

And really, if he were honest with himself, if the Kyuubi decided to run rampant, he would likely not have much of a chance of stopping it. Jiraiya would be the only one even close to helping out.

Or maybe Tenzō, with his Mokuton.

Besides, the week was almost over, and Naruto hadn't shown any signs of worrying behavior. Only the expected nerves from expecting a confrontation with a powerful ninja. Or perhaps that he finished each day almost at complete exhaustion.

Of course, that wasn't entirely unusual for Naruto. But it was news for Sasuke and Sakura. Their group training sessions were significantly less intense. Now, though, both of them were attending to their training with a focused enthusiasm that was otherwise not present.

The only true incident was with Tazuna's grandson, Inari, the day before Zabuza was projected to recover.

That was a situation that had been slowly simmering for _days_. He did his best to comfort the child, but by far, it had been the most he had ever seen Naruto disturbed by anything.

No matter. Tomorrow was when it was likely to all come to a head. All of them needed their sleep.

* * *

Six in the morning was not when Kakashi was planning to get up.

But it was hard to plan for Naruto. He was shaking him rather insistently.

"Sensei! That Gato guy didn't wait! People are attacking the bridge!"

Naruto was supposed to be sleeping, gathering his strength. Not keeping watch. But Kakashi didn't argue. He just stood and rushed out of the house, Naruto on his heels.

"Why did you come back, then? Were these attackers ninja?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, just reject samurai or something. But I'm not really sure how long my clones will last against them. I didn't put special amounts of chakra into them. Just the normal amount. One of them already popped, which is what woke me up."

So he _was_ sleeping, then.

It didn't take them too long to clean up the remaining thugs, since there were less than ten actually there, including the two that Naruto's clones had dispatched.

The number would have likely been higher had Tazuna's workers not been there to start their work day. Protecting a single target was significantly easier than twelve.

Naruto wasn't exactly confident with his clones making more clones, at least not in battle.

But it was disturbing that Gato had staged an attack _now_ , of all times. Like he knew that they would be expecting the attack later on in the day, and yet was patient enough to strike at the least likely moment.

He was thinking disturbingly like a ninja.

Either that, or it was a coincidence, and he simply got impatient. But Kakashi didn't believe in coincidences.

Neither did Naruto.

Naruto frowned. "Why didn't he just hire more ninja?"

"That takes time, Naruto. And the ability to _find_ missing-nin. Legitimate villages are also more expensive, and may refuse a job if it is likely to create consequences like this one."

It was also a possibility that Zabuza was actually the instigator of this attack, and had some measure of authority over Gato's men.

Either way, they needed to be prepared _now_ , not in the originally planned three hours.

"Gather Sasuke and Sakura. One of you tail Tazuna, one of you should stay with his family, and the other will come with me to the bridge to guard the workers."

Naruto nodded and raced off.

Kakashi sighed. It was not going to be a _problem_ , per se. He was nearly back at full strength, and he was no stranger to early mornings.

But no matter what was _right_ , he was still bringing three Genin on a practically A-rank mission. Nothing had gone smoothly, and he had a feeling that that trend wasn't going to end anytime soon.

* * *

Kurama sighed inside his prison. He knew starting out that teaching Naruto would not necessarily be an _enjoyable_ experience for him. Humans had some really _stupid_ instincts to get rid of, and barely any useful ones to speed things along.

And he knew that he wouldn't exactly be considered teacher material. It was particularly hard to curb his impatience, especially seeing Naruto so inexperienced even compared to his still rather stupid teenage self. (Though that teenage self had some unexpectedly good moments.)

But the worst part was knowing that your student was _good_ , but not good _enough_.

He found that his predictions on Naruto's ability to be depressingly accurate. He might have actually beaten Haku with trickiness, if he hadn't been so inexperienced to run straight into the trap of his Kekkei Genkai.

Of course, he didn't actually _know_ what the mirrors did, but it was still rather stupid to run into something unknown and so outside the realm of normal ninja ability.

Or perhaps he just didn't have a good enough idea of what was normal ninja ability.

That didn't mean he wouldn't get an earful about it after the fight, though. He could have at least sent a clone in first.

After he lent his power, though, it was some great catharsis by proxy. Naruto didn't _have_ to dodge any of the senbon. His chakra-enhanced body was too durable for them to properly pierce him, at least at Haku's strength level.

But he did anyway, and the look on the boy's face was priceless.

Naruto could have smashed the mirrors easily with a swipe of his new claws. But he decided to simply catch Haku when he jumped between them and beat him with straight taijutsu.

Okay, so perhaps Sasuke was looking at them with an intensity that demanded answers later. But with all the lessons he had been plagiarizing from Kakashi about teamwork, he had been surprised Naruto hadn't insisted on telling his team earlier.

_Right. Kakashi stopped him from telling them earlier._

But there was something else that bothered Kurama. There was a feeling growing in him, that he wasn't entirely comfortable with.

Naruto had done such things to him before, of course. Strange feelings had plagued him practically since he had first reached out to him.

Identifying the emotion didn't help much, either. It was pride. Pride in someone else.

It didn't make _sense_ , though. In almost every objective way, Naruto had failed this mission. He had to be reminded constantly to use his brain, and when it mattered most, Kurama still had to step in.

But the feeling remained, and it was infuriating. He was proud at all the wrong things. Why was he _proud_ at Naruto managing to hold in his rage, when that rage was his own? Why was he proud of someone getting something right on the _second_ try, when a single misstep could mean death?

The worst part of all this was that he could no longer stay mad at his student properly. It was a difficulty with Naruto in general, but he could at least manage it by telling himself that this was a different Naruto. A more annoying one that could never replace the original.

Maybe this was why Naruto was totally blind to just how annoying that kid named after the village was when he taught him the first time around.

Of course, he could still be annoyed by the stupid things he _did_. Apparently, he taught Naruto the purpose of a shinobi a little _too_ well, and rather than kill Haku (or Zabuza for that matter), he somehow convinced them that once their own mission was impossible to complete, it would be fun to drive that idiot Gato out.

After they sliced him up, of course.

The more things change, the more things stay the same, apparently.

But it had unfortunate implications for Naruto's future interactions with missing-nin. Most of them that were after Naruto were much stronger than Haku or Zabuza, and leaving any of them alive in any way meant imminent danger, not a potential ally. At least these two were relatively decent people. Or at least decent ninja.

Easily predictable, at minimum.

_«_ _At least the danger is over, and I can go back to my nap._ _»_

* * *

The rest of the day was torture for Naruto. He could feel the looks of his teammates on his back, and he had a pretty good idea of why, but none of them seemed to want to bother him about it.

Sakura's looks were worse. At least he could understand the clear confusion and jealousy from Sasuke.

While Sakura's expression didn't quite match those from the rest of the village… well, she didn't even _know_ what was in him, and her expression was totally foreign to him.

It was a well-known fact that girls were strange and unreadable, but something in the back of his head told him that it was a warning sign. And it wasn't even the _other voice in his head._

_«_ _Remind me to give you a few lessons on espionage myself. Jiraiya is hopeless, but I assure you that girls are not as strange as you think them to be._ _»_

_That_ one.

 _«If it bothers you so much, just_ ask _the brats about it. If they are going to reject us, it's going to happen with or without your input.»_

Naruto knew he was right. Or at least strongly suspected that he knew what he was talking about. Still… he couldn't quite bring himself to speak up about it. This wasn't like Jiji, where he already knew about Kurama, just not that he was nice.

Sasuke lost his entire family, even extended family, because most of them blamed the Uchiha for the attack.

 _«They weren't_ entirely _wrong.»_

_You already told me all about that._

Kurama just grunted inside his head. It had been an entire rant. Quite a few rants, if you counted all the ones about the Uchiha in general.

Sakura… well, she didn't lose anyone to the attack, but she came from a civilian family. Those were even worse than ninja families when it came to accusations of him literally being a demon. A reborn Kurama, not his prison.

And he somehow had to either lie about being able to control Kurama's power, or explain that he had mellowed out since the attack.

Kurama sounded offended. _«I did not 'mellow out!'»_

Naruto ignored him.

A shadow clone popped up right next to his bed. He had all night to think, and possibly plan on what he would say.


	19. Chapter 18

The sun was just peeking above the horizon when Naruto heard a soft knock on his door. The clone yawned, but got up from the chair and opened the door.

He had expected Kakshi-sensei, possibly giving them some extra training. Or even Sasuke, determined to figure out and perhaps even copy the power he showed in the fight.

He wasn't expecting Sakura. He didn't expect her to look clearly _worried_. At least not worried for him, rather than the other way around.

"I'll wake Boss. I don't think you want to talk to a clone."

Sakura frowned slightly, but since Naruto couldn't figure out exactly why, he just shrugged the thought off and dispelled himself.

Naruto woke up instantly, as he had trained himself to do after the influx of new memories hit him.

And then he immediately groaned and wanted back in bed as he realized that nobody's life was actually in danger.

_Really? I couldn't have just shook myself like a normal person?_

"Sakura? What are you doing here this early?"

"I couldn't sleep very well."

Naruto winced.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly in recognition. She put her hands up quickly. "Not because of you! Well, not because of… that. Not anymore, at least. I could see that you had very good control, and even though I _would_ like to know how you did any of that… well…" Sakura looked around herself. "I'm worried about _you_. You're always… you always just seem to know what to do. You're always better prepared, always…"

She sighed. "You didn't always do that well in the Academy, but you knew immediately what Kakashi was trying to do with that bell test. You know all sorts of skills they never taught there, you… you just know all sorts of things that…"

Sakura shook her head, then sighed. "That's not what I came here for. I've just… never seen you that worried about something. I just wanted to say… well…" She smirked. "I might be a _little_ jealous, but you aren't as annoying as I thought you were in the Academy. And um…" She looked a little awkward. "I don't think anyone is going to have any issues with your bloodline."

Naruto looked back up at her, and she stiffened at his expression. "That doesn't mean I _like_ you like that, though."

He deflated a little, but his awkward smile remained. "Thank you. But, umm… it isn't a bloodline."

Sakura started. "It isn't? What else could it be? I've never heard of something like that. Is it something you can do because of your large chakra reserves?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It's more like the reason I have really big chakra reserves. Okay, _maybe_ it's because of my mom, but…" He shifted uncomfortably. "We should probably wake up Sasuke. He needs to know too."

 _«You_ do _have a bloodline, though.»_

 _I do?_ Sakura left, presumably to get their teammate.

_«_ _Through your mother._ _That increased chakra is technically a bloodline_ _, and_ _it is_ _the_ _very_ _reason you can hold me. Even if I still liked you, without it, I would start to burn you from the inside out._ _»_

Naruto frowned. _I thought you said you were the reason I had really big chakra reserves, not the other way around._

_«Your body did have to adapt, yes. But it would not have had the chance without your Uzumaki heritage.»_

_Is… is there anything else I should know about it? Just having a big chakra pool sounds… well, it doesn't sound like any other bloodlines you told me about._

_«Your chakra is… extra compatible, I suppose. I remember that many Uzumaki could give their chakra to others, who could use it as their own. And then there was their damnable Kekkei Genkai. That was annoying.»_

Naruto jerked slightly. _Wait, what?_

_«I suppose it wouldn't be terrible if you happened to possess it. Your mother had some very powerful sealing chains that could hold even me for a time. Unfortunately. It made being sealed inside of her incredibly annoying. And very boring.»_

" _Sealing_ chains?"

 _«_ _Not so loud. But yes. It was rare._ _But..._ _»_ Kurama briefly thought of the war. Seals strong enough to hold one like himself would be _incredibly_ useful. It was one of the only reasons he thought that teaching Naruto sealing in the first place was worth the effort. And even though they weren't permanent, they made some of the more finicky permanent seals quite a bit safer to use.

_«But I suppose we could see if you have the potential.»_

"Naruto?" Sakura was back, and Sasuke followed her. He didn't look entirely enthusiastic about being woken up so early, but there was a curiosity behind his annoyed expression.

He shifted uncomfortably.

"So..?" Sakura asked, uncertainty clouding her voice.

Naruto sighed. "I guess I should start by telling you my birth day."

There was a swirl of illusory leaves, and Kakashi was in the room. His expression was uncharacteristically serious. "I think we should take this somewhere more private, don't you?"

Naruto glanced at Kakashi with a panicked expression, but calmed down, a sudden warmth in his chest. _He didn't say no this time._

"I know a place." It no longer mattered that his team would see it. And he wasn't going to be training there anymore, anyway. Kurama already told him that their training was going to be focusing on more traditional shinobi arts for the more immediate future.

It was the most private place he could find back when he had started training with Kurama, in one of the more inhospitable areas of the forest north of the village, and away from any trails he could recognize by a large margin. His training was not exactly subtle. Or quiet.

Though he supposed that, while private, it was not a particularly well-advised place to explain about his friend and occupant. While destroyed trees and rocks were a fairly common sight on training fields of higher level shinobi, the claw marks were a bit unsettling to people who didn't know anything about Kurama.

Or by the slight twitches in Kakashi's neutral expression, likely unsettling to those who only knew Kurama when he was angry or being controlled.

"So, Naruto… what about your birthday is important?"

Kakashi answered for him. "Sakura, Naruto's birthday is October 10th, twelve years ago."

She frowned. "Isn't that–"

"The attack of the Kyuubi, yes."

Naruto spoke up for the first time. "You know it's impossible to kill a Tailed Beast, right, Sakura?"

She frowned. "No? Didn't the Yondaime..?"

"I guess it's possible to _disperse_ a tailed beast, but they eventually reform, and it's almost impossible to predict when or where that will happen. So ever since they were made, ninja have been sealing them instead."

Kakashi reeled internally. _Made? What has that fox been telling Naruto? The general consensus by the vast majority of shinobi is that they are natural phenomena._

He hadn't been seriously considering the possibility that the Kyuubi was _actually_ friendly with his host. Momentarily harmless, perhaps. But even Jinchuuriki who had full control over their tailed beast had no more insight than the rest of them.

"But yeah. My dad sealed it in me before he died, since Mom was too weak to seal it back in her." Naruto looked down, not particularly noticing the rest of his team's eyes boring into him.

 _So he_ did _learn who his parents were._

It appeared that he was significantly more mature than his constant pranks indicated. Not once had he used his parents as leverage when he was caught, or even when he was shunned.

Or he was withholding that information for when it would have maximal effect. Either way, it was a promising sign for a ninja.

Kakashi turned to Naruto's teammates. "Incidentally, the information held in this discussion is considered an S-class secret by the Hokage. I doubt I have to tell you what the punishment for telling someone else is, do I?"

Sakura's eyes widened. Even Sasuke looked visibly taken aback.

"Then what about Naruto? Will something happen to him?"

Kakashi smiled. "He is the only one exempt from this rule. Though since much of this was kept secret from _him_ , I doubt that the Hokage expected that to be much of a problem."

Sakura frowned and looked at Naruto. "Then how did you find out? I know you took the Scroll of Seals, but I didn't think you would make a habit of stealing secret files."

"Kurama told me."

"Who's Kurama?"

Naruto rubbed his stomach. "That's his name. The Kyuubi."

She tensed.

"He's not that bad."

At their alarmed expressions, he elaborated. "Uh, I should probably mention he was being controlled when he attacked the village."

Kakashi's head whipped around. "What?"

"Yeah. Someone that called himself Madara used a really strong genjutsu on him. Made him act like a dumb animal."

"Madara? But how could he be alive?"

"Well, I only said that he called himself Madara. Kurama says he didn't look like him. Madara was taller. And had a different physical build. He also could control him a lot better."

_«He was a lot more annoying, too.»_

"He also says he was a lot more annoying, but I'm not sure what he's talking about when he says that."

Kakashi frowned. _So someone from the Uchiha clan_ was _involved, after all. But if Itachi was able to kill them, yet they could control a Tailed Beast… it doesn't make sense. And Itachi was loyal before he snapped. I_ knew _him._ _Could it really be Madara, just weakened by time? Could he still be alive, after all?_

Sasuke spoke up. "So this is the source of your power?"

"I guess? Kurama won't let me use it unless my life is in danger, though." He looked around at the destroyed training area. "And practice using it, I guess."

"We're ninja. Our lives are in danger constantly."

Naruto shrugged. "His definition of 'life in danger' is a lot different. He says that power makes ninja very lazy. So he wants me to solve things by myself if it's possible. Or with my team."

Sasuke frowned.

"I mean, I don't like that he's sealed in me any more than he does, and I sure would _like_ it if he gave me some of it whenever I want, but it's _his_ power, not actually mine. And, well… I wouldn't want people to just use _my_ chakra without my permission, just because I have a whole lot of it. If I give it to people, I want it to be for a good reason."

He reluctantly nodded.

"I just have to figure out how to actually give it to people, first."

Sakura sighed. "You can't just give people chakra, Naruto."

Naruto shrugged. "It's an Uzumaki thing, apparently."

She groaned. "I thought you said you didn't have a bloodline. Anyway, it doesn't matter all that much. Kakashi, shouldn't we get back soon? I know Gato is dead, but we are still supposed to be protecting Tazuna."

Kakashi jabbed a thumb at Naruto. "He left a few clones."

"You did?"

Naruto nodded. "I thought things might take a while to explain."

" _When_?"

Kakashi answered her. "During our little walk through the forest. Naruto has a few abilities he has decided to keep secret." He glanced at the boy. "We should use the rest of our time off to polish our teamwork, now that secrets are no longer an issue, don't you think, Naruto?"

Naruto winced. He hadn't even brought out his shunshin ability during their time together. And he didn't even have a good excuse either, other than the flimsy "I'm not that good at it yet." His modified version may have had almost no use, but the normal jutsu was almost complete, as long as he jumped a little before activating it. Kurama's definition of "mastery" was different than most of his classmates, and even Iruka-sensei, but it didn't mean he shouldn't use something in practice.

And he didn't even mention his espionage training with Jiraiya. Sure, it wasn't fighting like his teammates seemed to focus on, but it was still important for his teammates to know his abilities. They weren't enemies. And despite Sakura's admittedly annoying behavior and Sasuke's insistence to do everything that he could on his own, they were the closest people Naruto had to friends that were in the same class as himself.

...Okay, and he still had a bit of a crush on Sakura, despite everything.

Naruto smiled, relaxing a little. None of them had rejected him. "Right, sensei. So, what are we starting with?"


	20. Chapter 19

The last few days of the bridge-building went by as fast as D-rank type work ever did. Now that they were less worried about an attack, they were able to be more involved with the actual building process. As usual, Naruto did a majority of the work himself, as his clones let him be many places at once. And their group training sessions, even going two at a time to keep a guard with Tazuna, were much different. Better, somehow, even though Naruto was suddenly the one winning every spar. Though he did constantly get complaints from his teammates that he spent more time running away with a shunshin than actually fighting.

It felt good. Not the winning, though that was still a little satisfying, but telling someone else the truth with something like this. It felt like trust, and he only had one other person like that.

Maybe Jiji was like that, but he was always busy and almost never there.

Maybe Iruka-sensei, but he was usually more interested in how Naruto was feeling, and not about his jutsu or anything like that.

His abilities had a strange effect on his teammates, too. He had never seen Sasuke with so much focus on a task actually at hand. And he had never quite seen Sakura so visibly disheveled. Not for the purpose of training, certainly. She looked oddly prettier when she was like that, which was a confusing thought all on its own. And she was getting a lot harder to beat, too, which only made winning feel better than usual.

Not that he was even supposed to be a combat-focused ninja, at least according to Kakashi. After evaluating his trap-making, he was much more suited to sabotage. Especially considering his disguise abilities. And his ability to get the heck out of there.

His only problem was his massive chakra. Even with Kurama behind a seal, his chakra pool itself had grown massively to compensate, and even with his best efforts suppressing it, he barely got it down to look like he was a normal… adult… jounin.

It sure made things like explosive tags a lot easier to use, which was a big plus.

With everything that happened, though, none of them really relaxed properly until they were back on their way to Konoha.

Oh, and he had a bridge named after him.

Which was both great and terrible. Great because it represented an entire _town_ that respected him, and possibly even admired him despite half of them kinda fearing him at the same time. He had _dreamed_ of having things like bridges named after him when he became Hokage.

The issue was that he expected to become Hokage first. That is, strong enough to be well-known like that. Hopefully, none of the other nations would realize that the name of the bridge in Wave was the same as one of Konoha's genin and take special interest in him. Or if the stories weren't exaggerated, look too closely at his face in general, because his _dad_ could definitely be considered well-known. Kurama had told him many times, and he had seen enough of Haku and Zabuza to know he was not ready in the least for that kind of attention.

Unfortunately, Kurama had refused to give him any training beyond some occasional advice about the sealing homework Jiraiya had assigned him before the mission began.

And then _Kakashi_ told them on the way back to Konoha that _he_ was giving them an entire week off of training.

 _Pff._ Giving _us a week. Like we need even more time off._

Not even Sakura looked happy about that, like he half expected her to be.

Naruto kicked a stick into the fire. Now they were back out of Wave, fires were allowed again. Which was nice for his teammates, since ration bars were disgusting, and they seemed to have a weird sort of aversion to eating things raw. It meant he was able to make ramen, though.

Still, he wasn't being entirely fair to them. The Academy might not have been that long ago by any objective measurement, but Sakura definitely wasn't the kind of kunoichi she used to be, book-smart but knowing almost nothing practical. She hadn't been stuck guarding Tazuna during their fight with the missing-nin because she was weak, it was because most of her offensive capabilities were ranged anyway. She wasn't _strong_ just yet, but she wasn't just the "prettiest ninja" anymore.

Sasuke was… well, he still didn't talk that much, his dark looks off in the distance were still worrying, and Kurama still didn't like him at all, but none of those dark looks were directed at _him_ anymore.

For Naruto, even something as simple as someone _not disliking_ him was something to cherish. He still wasn't quite the person he'd choose as a teammate, but after what happened on the bridge, it was hard to not feel attached.

Naruto leaned back, watching the stars. Now that he was fully with his team, and there was no civilian in the way, it was easier to notice that he fell asleep much later than the rest of them. He got up earlier, too.

It wasn't that he was too nervous, and there wasn't a technique he was particularly excited about practicing at the moment. He just wasn't tired until later. Kakashi had noticed this early on, and he had taken first watch ever since. Last watch, too, if he was feeling particularly lazy.

Okay, maybe he did have a point about needing to recover chakra.

"Naruto?"

He sat up, glancing at the fire to make sure she hadn't noticed something ready to escape. When that didn't seem to be the case, he turned to his teammate more fully. "Sakura?"

She looked nervous, and even a little embarrassed. Naruto's heart caught in his throat, but he forced it back down.

"What's it like?"

"Huh?"

"Having the Kyuubi in you." She frowned. "I can't even think of how that would work."

Naruto wasn't expecting something like a confession of love, but he couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. Still, this was a topic he was intimately familiar with. Possibly uniquely so. Actually teaching something to _Sakura_ instead of the other way around was a novel change.

"You don't have to–"

Naruto smiled to reassure her. "No, it's fine. First, his name's Kurama, remember?"

"Right." She was still obviously uneasy.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Right. Well, I guess I can start with how it works, I guess." Naruto took a small scroll from his uniform. "So, you are familiar with storage scrolls, right?"

Sakura nodded.

He rolled it out to a blank section, and Sakura leaned in a bit closer in interest. Most that were sold in supply stores were already filled out with script, to store certain kinds of items.

Naruto picked up a pinecone, and took his brush out of its place on his arm holster. "So a basic seal for holding things takes _this_ form…"

He made a few strokes, ones that were very much common to the other seals she could see on the portion of the scroll that was still spread out between them.

"...And then there are a few more that determine what sort of state you want to store it _in._ " These, too, seemed almost identical to most of the others he had.

"And then finally, some more that sorta describe what you need to hold there. Then you just add some chakra, and–" The pinecone disappeared into the scroll with a poof of smoke.

Naruto glanced at Sakura's face, and seeing that there was no confusion there, he released the pinecone and rolled the scroll back up.

"Naruto, did you just waste that entire section of the scroll for a pinecone?"

He just shrugged. Ero-sensei said he'd teach me a jutsu to wipe off inactive seals pretty soon."

"So… what does a sealing scroll have to do with _your_ seal? How do you seal, um… _that_?"

Naruto looked slightly offended, but didn't retort. "Well, sealing someone like Kurama is actually kinda similar to a scroll. But uh… a lot harder, obviously. Sealing something that already has chakra is a nightmare, otherwise I'd already be sealing my shadow clones so I didn't have to waste any chakra in battle. You have to make sure that the chakra that you use to seal it is in a really specific pathway that doesn't mess up the chakra in what you're sealing, or in Kurama's case, that his chakra won't be able to mess up the seal."

Sakura frowned. She remembered the anatomical diagrams they studied in the Academy. The chakra network was not a simple system.

"It's even worse, because Kurama doesn't even really have a chakra network."

She blinked. "Wait, what?"

"He's _made_ of chakra. It still flows and stuff, but yeah. It's harder. And then since Dad kinda _wanted_ me to use his chakra, there has to be a controlled leak. And that _sounds_ easier, but it's not."

"Huh."

Naruto poked the fire with a branch. Sakura scooted herself a little closer. "That _is_ interesting… but I was more curious about how it felt for _you_."

He blinked in surprise, then mentally kicked himself. Of _course_ , she wasn't exactly looking to be a sealing master.

"I mean, it's pretty great to have someone to talk to all the time." He chuckled. "Kinda annoying, too, but mostly good."

Sakura nodded. It wasn't what she was looking for, exactly. But she wasn't just about to say that. She had a lot of time to think about things, and it was clear now that Naruto's paradoxical behavior of being incredibly annoying, then studying intently, sleeping through class and failing to answer any questions coherently, then passing the tests anyway, was a result of his rather strange upbringing. And with the way the rest of the class (even her) stayed away from him all the time… and those looks he got from civilians and even some shinobi, having a single friend to lean on… well, _she_ didn't know how she would have gotten through primary school without Ino.

If the adults knew about his little problem, then things must have been even worse.

"About the bloodline thing… Sorry for not talking about it earlier. I didn't really think it was a bloodline thing, just that I got a lot of chakra from Mom. But it also means that I'm the only one who really _can_ hold Kurama. I can't really say what it feels like, since I kinda _always_ had him in here, and I don't know what it feels like to be anybody else, but when he gives me a lot of chakra…" Naruto shrugged awkwardly. "I'm not sure what to say. It's kinda like I'm on fire? But it doesn't really hurt, either, y'know?"

Sakura smirked. "It's okay, Naruto. I was just curious." She shifted again, looking at the smaller fire that Naruto kept for himself after the others had left. "So… what _is_ he like? Kurama?"

"Well, he does still get angry a lot, and he's not exactly _patient_. Still says he wants to eat, like, half the people in the village."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "And you said he wasn't that bad?"

Naruto shrugged. "Well, he really likes me for some reason. Most of the times he gets angry, someone's trying to threaten me or something. And I can always talk him down. He knows that I still want to protect _everyone_ in the village, not just the ones that are nice to me. At first, I thought it might be that me dying would make _him_ die too, but no. He'd just re-form somewhere else. I dunno what makes him like me so much, but he's a really… well, not a _nice_ sensei, but a really good one."

There was a soft gasp. "So _that's_ why you always knew so much."

"Well, he can't actually use jutsu. He said it's because he can't use handseals, but now that I think about it, it's probably that things just work different when you don't have a chakra network. But before Ero-sensei got here, he taught me about seals. And spying, and tricking people, and nutrition and stuff. And I never asked him about it, but he taught me pretty much everything Kakashi-sensei told us about teamwork and stuff."

"Nutrition?"

Naruto briefly paused to keep some sticks from rolling out of the fire. "Well, I only really ate ramen at the time. And I couldn't really afford going to Ichiraku's all the time, so I guess it wasn't really healthy. And since I didn't know how to use a henge, I couldn't really afford any other food, either."

Sakura frowned. "What does a henge have to do with affording things? You aren't stealing, are you?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. It's just that the price of things is different for me."

"Naruto…" She deflated.

"So he taught me to hunt stuff."

Her frown returned. "I meant to ask you about that. Why do you eat all your meat raw? Completely apart from taste, don't you get sick? Is it because of the Kyuubi?"

Naruto cocked his head. "Sick? Why would I get sick?"

She just stared at him. "Naruto, there are diseases in raw meat that get destroyed by heat. You did know that, right?"

He just shrugged. "Not really. I've never really gotten sick like that. So I dunno. It _does_ taste good, though. If it doesn't for other people, maybe that _is_ because of Kurama."

Sakura frowned.

"Wait, do the germs and stuff have chakra?"

"There are a few that affect the chakra system and feed on it, but no, why?"

"Well, _my_ chakra keeps me from burning up, so…"

"Oh, right."

Naruto yawned, and Sakura followed suit almost immediately after.

"All right. I need to keep watch, but if you're going to take third…"

Sakura nodded. "Right. See you in the morning?"

Naruto smiled. "See you. Good night!"

"Good night, Naruto."


	21. Chapter 20

_Okay, so I was thinking-_

_«Dangerous, but carry on.»_

Naruto snorted. _About the Kage Bunshin…_

_«You aren't supposed to be training, remember? You're supposed to be relaxing.»_

_I_ am _relaxing. Honest. I'm taking a walk. And I'm not even doing any spying, either._

_«I meant your new idea.»_

Naruto scoffed. _It's not like I'm going to actually_ do it _right now. I'm not as bad as I was before._

_«As you were an hour ago, you mean?»_

_Shut up. I'm trying. But about the Kage Bunshin, the clones are made of chakra, right?_

_«Yes. You really do have a talent for stating the obvious, don't you?»_

_It's called a setup. So anyway, if they are made of pure chakra, then how do they act like me?_

_«I thought_ you _would understand more than most, Naruto. I've talked about this before. Your will is inherent in your chakra.»_

_So why can't I just use your chakra to make shadow clones for you, then? If you're just made of chakra and will, then anything with your chakra and your will should be just… you, right?_

_«You_ are _correct.»_

_Then it'll work?_

_«It would require, though, that my will be greater than yours. You have a strong will. It doesn't help that chakra pushed through the seal is pushed into_ your _chakra system, making it difficult to distinguish.»_

 _But you have been trying to filter_ out _your will. So if you put more will and less chakra, maybe…_

 _«And that will put_ my _will into_ your _body, which will not only be painful, but cause your own body to try and change into mine. Not a pleasant or safe experience.»_

_But it's worth-_

_« **No.** »_

Naruto sighed. "Why won't you let me-"

 _«Because I care about you, brat. Do you need it spelled out? I am_ used _to this prison. You don't need to do anything else.»_

"Well if will is the problem, can you teach me?"

_«Teach you what?»_

"To filter it out like you do, duh. If you only use a _little_ bit more, and I use a lot less…"

 _«But you're_ human. _Not a being of chakra.»_

Naruto frowned. "Does that matter?"

He suddenly noticed that he was drawing looks.

_Sorry. Does that matter? You said the clones were-_

_«No, it doesn't matter. Your idea is a good one. But you have a chakra network. You are not naturally a being like me. It will be… frustrating for you.»_

_But if it_ works _, then you can be free! Or uh, at least copies of you can be._

 _«You seem to forget that copies of me_ are _me. I receive the memories and experiences regardless.»_

_It's a shame all the clones are so fragile, though._

_«Perhaps. Perhaps not.»_

_What do you mean?_

_«At the very least, you will learn a lot about shadow clones.»_

Naruto grinned. "All right! Now-"

_«Three days, Naruto.»_

"But-!"

_«Three. Days.»_

Naruto slumped. "Fine."

_«And you still have some more homework for Jiraiya that you can waste time with. Don't complain about it.»_

* * *

Three days later, Jiraiya found Naruto standing in their usual training field, creating shadow clones, and dismissing them almost as fast.

This wasn't entirely unusual, but as the clones weren't actually doing anything, he decided to ask. "So, kid, what'cha doing?"

Naruto, currently preoccupied, didn't even turn as he answered, "Making my shadow clones worse."

Jiraiya laughed, the response certainly not what he was expecting.

Naruto finally turned his head. "Ero-sensei! Sorry, I'll get my homework and-"

Jiraiya waved him off. "No need, I'll deal with that later. So, why exactly are you making your shadow clones 'worse' now?"

Naruto wasn't quite an idiot. He knew that his teacher wasn't quite comfortable with Kurama. So he told the truth. Just not all of it. "Well, I'm trying to get rid of the, uh, 'me' in the shadow clones. And if I can do that, then there's all sorts of stuff I can do with a thing made of just chakra."

Jiraiya frowned. The one time he had heard of someone's identity being taken from chakra was when Minato was talking about improvements to Kushina's seal. He crossed his arms.

Naruto noticed his expression. "Okay, _fine_. Kurama's teaching me to manage my chakra like a biju. The clone thing is just a bonus."

"You're going to have to do better than that."

_«I told you you still need work at lying.»_

Naruto sighed. It wasn't technically lying, but he had long learned that technicalities did not work in his arguments with Kurama. "So the main reason is actually so I can get Kurama's will into a clone instead of mine. Happy?"

"Naruto, I am proud of your ability to withhold information, but you already told me about your ambitions. While I am still… wary of your other teacher, I very much doubt that a single shadow clone, or even a barrage of them, will be enough to be a true danger. It's certainly better than your other ideas."

Naruto let out a breath.

Jiraiya grinned. "Still, jutsu development before even learning any elements? Impressive."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of..." He started to take a few pieces of paper out of an equipment pouch.

_«Not yet. I want you on your way to being a Sage before you start with an element, Naruto.»_

Naruto frowned. _Why?_

_«Because foxes are different from toads. Just pass on the message, kit.»_

Jiraiya was already holding up one of the slips of paper. "This, Naruto, is chakra paper. It will help you tell your affinity."

Naruto raised his hand. "Um, sensei?"

Jiraiya paused. "Hm? Did you already discover your affinity?"

"No, I mean, Kurama said something to me about being a Sage and waiting on the elemental stuff for now."

Jiraiya blinked. "There are fox sages? Oh, never mind. Of course there would be. I don't know what elemental jutsu have to do with that, though."

"He said that foxes were different than toads, but I don't know what that means, either."

"Right, right. No matter what, though, you'll need a lot more chakra control than you have right now, if you're thinking about Sage stuff this young."

Naruto turned his thoughts inward. _Kurama?_

_«Yes, he's right about that one. I have a feeling on what he might teach you. It's useful, and will certainly help with your chakra control, so pay attention.»_

Jiraiya hesitated for a moment, made a few handseals, and slapped the ground, making the wildlife around them instantly muted and slightly blurry. He took a blank scroll from his waist and rolled it out, sitting next to it. Naruto followed his example.

"Now, Naruto, I'm not even entirely sure I should teach this to you. I'm not even sure how your father managed the full version. And without your prowess in shadow clones, I wouldn't even consider it. But if you want chakra control, and a good example of battle-ready seals, this is the best possible skill for you to learn."

Inside Naruto, Kurama was reeling. He was fully expecting the Rasengan, Naruto's signature move last time, and the only one of Minato's jutsu that Jiraiya was supposed to know. Besides, it was well known that he _couldn't_ do the Hiraishin.

Still, he did say that it wasn't the full version. Was there another?

Jiraiya's brush danced across the paper, forming three tightly packed circles of seal script. They were certainly smaller than the seal on Naruto's belly, but they were by no means simple.

"Those are three of the four seals that make up the Hiraishin, one of the very few techniques that results in true teleportation."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Teleportation?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, teleportation. It was one of the chief reasons your father was so feared on the battlefield."

Naruto nodded back. "Kurama told me about that. But I thought that knowledge was lost. He didn't really write it on a scroll or anything."

"Not all of it was lost. The way your father used it… well, I have no idea. I've already told you about the difficulties of combining complicated seals. The only way I know how to use it is with three people, standing exactly equidistant from each other. Each with their own seal.

"Trust me, I've tried to combine them. It just doesn't work."

"So why are you teaching it to me?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Not only can you create three shadow clones at once, you don't even hesitate to throw them away. The Hiraishin wasn't _designed_ for shadow clones – they destabilize immediately – but teleportation at the cost of three shadow clones isn't something to sneeze at."

Naruto nodded.

"Besides, you need the chakra control practice. And who knows? You might find something I didn't and rediscover your father's jutsu."

His face lit up. "Right. Then that's what I'm going to do."

Jiraiya held up a hand. "Naruto, listen. This jutsu is not something to take lightly. It is not anything like what you have been taught before, and I do not expect you to succeed for a good while. These seals… only the fourth targeting seal should _ever_ be written down, you understand? The only reason I can even _show_ you these is that you are immune to mental jutsu that might be able to take the information from you."

Naruto gulped. "So if I can't write them down…"

"You write them in the air, in chakra. Not even blood. It takes a lot of control. It is another reason the Byakugan should _never_ leave Konoha. But for your first attempt, you will use these written circles, just to get a feel for the jutsu."

Naruto stood, a little shaky on his feet. "Okay. If you're sure."

"Now, make three clones."

He made the cross seal, and three of them appeared.

Jiraiya tore the scroll between the circles, passing one to each clone. "Each of you stand around Naruto, with that on your feet.

They did so, using their arms to make sure they were at an equal distance. Jiraiya nodded approvingly.

He tore another strip from the scroll and wrapped it around the handle of an ordinary kunai before writing a few characters on it. He held it up in front of all the Narutos. "This, Naruto, is the targeting seal. It can be applied in many ways, to all sorts of objects, including people if necessary. It contains very little information by itself, and so it is of very little concern if it falls into the hands of an enemy."

He threw the kunai to stick in the ground a few feet from the original Naruto's position, and well within the privacy seal.

"Now, clones, channel chakra into those seals. The exact _same_ amount of chakra, otherwise it won't work. See if you can find that target."

Several clones frowned at the relatively vague description, but as they channeled chakra into the seals, they discovered that it was rather easy to tell how much chakra the _others_ had channeled just by keeping their fingers touching.

And in the back of their minds, they could indeed sense that target, as well as quite a few others significantly farther away.

The exchange of chakra between them was not good for their clone bodies, though, and realizing they didn't have much time, and that the seals themselves seemed to be fully charged, they released the energy.

The clones poofed in a cloud of chakra smoke, Naruto disappeared in a golden flash, and reappeared… right on _top_ of the kunai handle.

Preoccupied by the new clone memories, and not expecting to have his left foot supported by nothing, he fell immediately into the dirt.

"Ow."

Jiraiya looked at him with a flash of panic before relief overtook his face. He did _not_ tell them to activate the seals, or even how much chakra was needed for a jump.

Naruto looked up. "Sorry, my clones tell me that they were destabilizing. And the seals were already charged."

Jiraiya was incredulous. "Charged? Completely? Right, I forget how much chakra you have sometimes."

Fortunately, an incomplete charge usually meant a lower distance teleport, as long as all the seals were charged evenly, rather than the more common sealing accidents. But a completely charged seal meant, well… Minato actually hadn't discovered an upper limit of how far he could go.

"When you master the jutsu, you'll find how much you need for each jump. But now that you have a general idea of how this jutsu works…" Jiraiya took the seals back, wiping them with a handseal and wave over the paper.

"You need to learn how to write with chakra."

"Write with chakra?"

Jiraiya nodded. "I'm sure the normal way of writing with chakra should be easy for you. Concentrate enough chakra to one of your fingers, and you can burn your writing onto something. But that is not what I'm talking about today. This requires a lighter touch."

He took one of the torn pieces of the scroll, which was now blank, and started writing with a finger. Nothing seemed to appear, but when he stopped, he channeled chakra into it, causing thin lines to appear.

"It isn't as versatile as a calligraphy brush, but it is decent at keeping information secret to anyone without a Byakugan. It takes control, though, to channel enough chakra to make an impression without burning the paper. And most importantly, it is the only way to make an invisible seal."

Naruto frowned. "But you said I'd have to do the seal in the _air_."

"That's the next step. It takes even _more_ control, though, as you have to hold it all at once, not just make an impression into paper."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

"But if the Kyuubi's trying to get you into _Sage_ chakra, you need the control. I don't need you dying on me."

"Right. I get it."

_«Remember, kit, that other shinobi have to practice all the time to increase their chakra reserves. You simply have to train in the other direction.»_

"Let's get started, then."

"Not so fast. You still owe me homework, remember?"


	22. Chapter 21

Naruto found himself up against a wall almost immediately. That easier, "intermediary step" Jiraiya had showed him was a skill he learned was for those with already _good_ chakra control as it was. He just barely managed to burn the paper without setting it on fire. Not something as precise as "creating an impression."

Fortunately, Kurama guided him through even more, easier chakra exercises to help, and even Kakashi showed him a few interesting ones when he discovered what he was having trouble with.

He didn't give up. Definitely not.

But he did take a break for a while. Reassess his priorities.

Kurama having shadow clones was definitely more important right now.

_«If you're done procrastinating-»_

_I'm not procrastinating!_

_«I agree you need a break. But your trapping skills need work.»_

Naruto frowned. "What are you talking about? My traps are great!"

_«Does Kakashi ever fall for them? Does any Jounin?»_

He sighed. "No, I guess not."

_«Then if you are going to continue to be attacked by missing-nin, you need better traps.»_

" _Am_ I going to get attacked? I really don't think every C-rank is going to be like that one."

_«Remember what I taught you?»_

"Right, right. Just, who is going to teach me? I know Kakashi's pretty good, but I don't think Sasuke or Sakura are that interested, and they have their own training."

_«What about your summon?»_

"He doesn't speak, though. How am I going to learn if I can't understand him?"

_«Well I guess you'll just have to learn.»_

* * *

Naruto _hated_ learning languages. It was almost as bad as learning seal script, but there wasn't even anything to write down to help him remember anything.

But his fox summon? He was great. He did, in fact, have a name, but as it was rather unpronounceable as a human, he gave up and just called him a made-up name of his own invention - Fukuda. He didn't seem to mind.

He also didn't seem to mind pranking the hell out of the villagers. Ninja or no. He was also _good_ at it. Better than he was.

Of course he should have expected that, given his trapping skills, but that could have easily just been his trap _disabling_ skills. And it wasn't like trapping skills necessarily meant you were good at pranking.

Fukuda was a _genius_ , though. An evil genius, but still a genius.

Naruto had never considered a paperclip to be an essential ninja tool, but he had quickly learned his lesson. He learned a lot of lessons.

Often the hard way, too, as Naruto himself was just as valid a target. Naruto had to compensate by making sure that he was always planning something for his friend to join. Otherwise he was often the most _interesting_ target.

Once Kurama's translations finally started to stick, and he understood more of what he was saying, he had to admit that the trap _evasion_ skills were ultimately just as important, no matter how much it stung to be covered head to toe in molasses.

Still, for someone he spent half the time angry at, and the other half gleefully plotting with… he really liked having him around. And so despite Jiraiya's warning that most summons didn't like to be called frivolously, Naruto sorta… kept him around, even when Team Seven were training together, or he had his daily chakra exercises and sealing work with Jiraiya.

He also happened to be the only person in the village, other than maybe Iruka, that Kurama didn't have some sort of problem with.

_«That's not true. That ramen family is just fine. And a few of your classmates aren't entirely terrible.»_

Naruto rolled his eyes. _Good to know._

That meant that he spent most of his "off-time" from the other teams as a fox. It did mean good stealth training, though. His team (and Jiraiya, for that matter) knew about his Henge abilities now, but he still didn't feel comfortable with it spread around _too_ much. Especially not enough where enemy ninja might hear about it.

He certainly wasn't strong enough for that.

Like the Hiraishin. He had already realized that even if he got his chakra control good enough to make seals in the air, the three-person jutsu was good for one thing – escaping. Or maybe two things. Escaping and reinforcements.

But without being strong enough, escaping in an absolute emergency was the only viable use. It wasn't just Kurama who knew stories of his father. It was the entirety of, well the entire world, but Iwa was particularly affected. If someone knew that he could use even the incomplete version, it wouldn't matter if people recognized his relation to his father or not. A lot of people would want him dead. As it was the best he could do was a single use trio of papers that had smaller, timed explosives for self-destruction after use. He didn't even want to have to use that just in case someone was _really_ good at memorization. Or had something like the Sharingan.

Speaking of other villages, there were quite a few foreign ninja strolling around. Normally, even the ninja of villages they were allies with weren't supposed to cross even the border without permission. But based on the number of ANBU observing and yet not doing anything, they were probably there for a good reason.

That didn't mean that they had the right to threaten Academy students, though, no matter how annoying they were.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Naruto stepped out from around the corner and leveled a glare at the boy with face paint, who currently had the student in the air by his collar.

"And what are you gonna do about it?"

Naruto shrugged. "Probably nothing. I know almost nothing about you, and I'm not a combat specialist. But I'm pretty sure the five ANBU surrounding you might have something they have in mind."

His eyes widened.

"So unless you're _trying_ to start a war between our villages, and get yourself killed at the same time, I suggest you put him down."

He put the kid shakily back on the ground, who ran off with a nod of thanks.

The other Sand nin rolled her eyes. "Kankuro, I _told_ you to stop being an idiot. Of _course_ they'd have us under observation."

"So why _are_ you here?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Were you not informed? To take the Chunin exam, just like everyone else."

Naruto nodded. "Oh, all right. I think they might tell us last. Maybe so we don't have time to prepare unfairly. Home field advantage and all that."

She smirked. "Home field doesn't matter if you have skill."

"I mean, it does if you trap the field to all hell, which is _totally_ what I would have done if I'd known where the field actually _was_ , then I'm pretty sure it would give the people who know where the traps are a distinct advantage."

Her eyes narrowed. "So you would cheat?"

Naruto shrugged. "We're ninja?"

She chuckled. "Good. And here I thought Konoha would be a pushover. I swear, everyone I meet in this village is insane."

Naruto laughed. "It's the insane ones you have to watch out for, actually."

The kunoichi suddenly shivered. "Right, I forget that sometimes."

He smiled. "Well, it was nice to meet you. Not makeup-guy, just you in particular." Naruto cut across Kankuro's offended protestations. "Oh, and I haven't really met you, guy with the gourd, but I suppose I should compliment you on your stealth, because I actually didn't see you until a few seconds ago."

_«I did.»_

_Yeah, but you know where_ everyone _is. It's a little unfair._

_«No, I mean, he's a Jinchuuriki too.»_

_And now I feel even_ more _embarrassed. How did I not notice that much chakra?_

The boy looked startled at Naruto's compliment. "Thank… you? Mother acts… strange around you."

Naruto considered the second statement and decided to ignore it completely, like the word "youth" around a certain jounin.

He considered what Kurama told him, and went for broke. "So who do you have?" He pointed at his stomach. "Inside you, I mean?"

The girl blanched.

The boy looked at him oddly. "Mother."

Naruto looked slightly put out. It did explain that strange statement, though. "Oh, they didn't tell you their name? Bummer. By the way, what's yours?"

"Sabaku no Gaara. I wonder if you will prove my existence." He gave a piercing stare, and disappeared in a swirl of sand, his apparent teammates following in a slight panic.

Naruto frowned.

_What was that about?_

_«Hell if I know. But if you're wondering who he has, it's Shukaku.»_

_How do you know?_

_«Simple. Nobody else is that insane.»_

Naruto rolled his eyes.

_«All right, I know what his chakra looks like. Happy?»_

_Anything I should know about him?_

_«Other than his overinflated ego?»_

_Like I haven't seen that somewhere else._

_«Hey! My ego is_ entirely _earned. He's just butthurt that he's the weakest.»_

_So he isn't someone to be worried about?_

Kurama hesitated for a moment. _«_ _No, you actually should be careful._ _I haven't actually gotten you to one tail's worth of chakra yet, and despite my teasing, Shukaku_ does _have more power than a single tail. You might overpower him, you might not. I would be careful. It doesn't look like his seal is very good, which makes a full integration unlikely, but that also means that Shukaku himself might break free completely, and that's a_ bad _thing for you, especially right now._ _»_

_..._ _I should get working on those shadow clones again._

_«_ _What does that stupid project have to do with anything?_ _»_

Naruto jumped to the roofs and started to make his way back towards the edge of the village. _Just another theory, that's all. I won't be able to make anything else that much better before these exams, but I think I'm on the verge of something great here._

_«Kakashi is expecting you in less than three minutes.»_

_Yeah, and he's always late. Besides, didn't you say I need to be better at multitasking?_

Kurama just sighed.

* * *

It took only ten minutes for his teammates to arrive, and another ten for them to finally get fed up.

"Naruto, what are you _doing_? Those are some of the saddest clones I've seen since you tried the Academy version again three weeks ago."

Naruto gave his teammate a large grin. "I know, Sakura, it's great! It means I'm getting close."

Sasuke snorted. "If you're going to mess around before sensei gets here, the least you could do is spar with one of us."

They had long ago tried to show up closer to Kakashi's level of lateness. But the _first time_ they tried, he had inexplicably shown up on time. To the second. And punished them for their tardiness severely.

And not the "extra training" punishment like with Kurama. It was the "you must complete ten D-ranks before I even consider training you" punishment, which was something _nobody_ wanted, no matter the level of masochism.

It was also totally unfair, because they didn't get to punish _him_ for being constantly late.

But at least he didn't mind them doing stuff before he got there.

Sakura frowned. "It _does_ look like you're overloading the clones with chakra. But I thought that was impossible with your technique. Are you _actually_ using the academy clone? If so, you're doing surprisingly well."

Naruto shook his head as he dispelled the clone and focused again. "Nope. I'm trying to make the clones have less… _me_ in them."

"Why?"

Another clone appeared. This one was a rather Naruto-shaped pile of whitish nothing on the floor.

"Yes! Almost there." The clone dispelled once again. "Anyway, I'm hopefully making a new technique. It's based on the _Kage Bunshin_. This is the first step."

"Ah, that makes much more sense."

Sasuke just made a curt nod, and his irritation, while not completely gone, was a lot more muted. He turned to his female teammate. "Do you mind sparring while we wait?"

Sakura nodded, then turned to Naruto briefly. "Do tell me if you come up with anything, though. I haven't heard of many new jutsu. I wouldn't have pegged you as the type."

As his teammates went off to the side of the bridge, Naruto tuned out the clanging metal and examined his recent creation.

It wasn't that impressive by any measure, just a mass of whitish-yellow gunk that sat in a sad pile on the wooden planks.

And unfortunately, it wasn't even quite what he wanted, since he was pretty sure the top part just barely looked like it was in the shape of his hair.

_So, what do you think?_

_«I told you, I don't care about this mess.»_

_But what do you think? Will it work?_

_«There isn't exactly a way to measure 'will' in any reasonable way, Naruto. You've used my chakra plenty of times for clones, and I certainly don't remember being inside of any of them despite that. The only reason I think this even has a_ chance _of working is that sometimes I get the memories, too.»_

_Really?_

_«It's certainly bizarre.»_

_Well, here goes. I know you don't want to give me more will than chakra, but could you at least try not to filter it this time?_

_«As long as you don't ask for too much, sure.»_

Only Naruto's constant exercises gave him any hope of differentiating between the "colors" inside his own body. Especially since the seal injected the chakra directly into his normal chakra system.

But now that he had experience in recognizing his own will, Kurama's was far easier to see, and thus, Naruto's first attempt was far more successful than even he expected.

There was a poof of red chakra smoke.

_«...You didn't.»_

Naruto grinned.

_«You did.»_

Naruto picked up the pebble-sized (and rather angry) nine-tailed fox off the ground, ignoring the fact that it kept trying to bite his finger repeatedly. Given that its jaw could barely fit over a fingernail, this was not a very successful venture.

"Come on, let me do it again."

_«You can't be serious. That is the opposite of a useful jutsu. That's even the opposite of a good time. Can't you see just how much fun I'm having?»_

"Trust me, this'll be great."

 _«Okay,_ fine _. **One**_ _more time. That's **it**.»_

Naruto smiled as he gathered Kurama's chakra for the second time, and released it into another puff of red smoke.

He dropped the (violently squirming) fox still in his hand onto the second, newer one.

The now slightly larger fox froze, wide-eyed. Even the Kurama inside his head paused in shock.

_«Naruto, you are an idiotic genius. Do you know what you've done? Do you know what this means?»_

_It means_ _you get to be free_ and _more useful in combat_ _?_

 _«Yes, but that's not the point at all! This_ means _that the seal doesn't matter **at all**! It means that I can be free, _completely _free, and you don't even have to die for that to happen!»_

"What?"

_«Quiet down, kit, I'm not so sure people should know about this yet. Even if we got rid of that seal today, we might at most be able to share a body, and change who's in charge, but that's it. Any attempt at separation, and the shock would kill you within minutes.»_

_«This, though… That tiny clone of me_ is _me. I can hear his voice in my head from here, and he can hear me.»_

"Well, my clones kinda are me, too."

_«I know, but your clones can't gather chakra of their own, can they?»_

"Huh. No."

 _«_ _My point is, the 'me' inside you is that much weaker. The 'me' outside of you is that much stronger. It will be slow, but it is very possible that you eventually could be free of me,_ completely _._ _»_

Naruto stiffened. "Oh.

"Oh dear."

_«I suggest we keep the exact process rather quiet. We don't have to lie, just withhold some of the truth. It's just a new variant on the shadow clone, that's all.»_

"Right. That it is."

Naruto sat down roughly on the wood, not caring about any possible splinters. "That it is."


	23. Chapter 22

Naruto's mind was in a blur the entire time Kakashi was explaining the Chunin exams, and even as they walked over to registration, signed forms in hand, his thoughts were firmly on the tiny fox hidden in his equipment pouch.

Kurama's voice was surprisingly gentle. _«_ _I know, kit. I don't know what to think, either._ _»_

That more than anything kept him from even acknowledging the loud ninja around him, or even his team, who stopped to interact with them.

"Sorry, but only teams of three are allowed to participate in the Chunin exams."

He silently took that information in, and decided to wait around for his teammates.

Kurama wasn't supposed to be like this. He _always_ knew what to do. Always had a plan. And a backup, and a backup to that backup, even if it was as simple as running away from the village and starting over.

Naruto didn't even think he'd heard the words 'I don't know' from him, ever. 'Didn't bother to learn,' maybe. But being like _this_?

He wasn't even quite sure to think himself. Of course, he wanted Kurama to be free. But now that it was right in front of him… he was almost _scared_.

He had been scared before. It hadn't been this bad in a while, but he always had someone to calm him down, to tell him that everything would be all right, that he would be _safe_.

But when Kurama spoke in his mind once more, he almost felt his own fear reflected back in that voice. _«Naruto…_ _kit… We need to talk_ _._ _»_

Naruto looked around the room. His teammates were still nowhere to be seen, which worried him slightly, but the time limit for registration was still a long way off, so he simply retreated to a corner of the room to "meditate" and talk to Kurama.

_What… do we need to talk about?_

_«_ _Don't just pretend to meditate. Actually do it. Come on in. Face to face is better._ _»_

Naruto was dumbfounded. _I can do that?_

Kurama cursed as he realized his rather obvious oversight. _«_ _Yes. Now, just clear your mind. If you do it well enough, you'll fall into it._ _»_

_F_ _all into what?_

_«_ _Your mind, idiot. That's where I am._ _»_

_O_ _h. Right._

Naruto shook his head, trying to clear it. It was difficult. There were all sorts of important things to think about. The exam. Kurama's freedom. What Kurama looked like–

There was a sudden pull that sent him tumbling into water and left him with a headache.

«Naruto! I thought I taught you better mental control!»

Naruto got his feet back under him and his head out of the water. "Sorry. There's just… a lot on my mind."

Kurama sighed, and Naruto finally turned his head towards him, and the cage around him for the first time.

Kurama himself looked absolutely magnificent. He towered over Naruto, of course, even curled up on the ground as he was, but his ears… his tails… it was different from the other foxes, and even the summoning foxes like Fukuda, but it still felt _right_.

And even though he shoved the thought into the deepest recesses of his mind the moment he thought it, he was kinda jealous of his fur.

The cell, and even the area outside of it was dark, dinghy, and was covered in a foot and a half of water that didn't smell _terrible,_ but it didn't exactly look the cleanest, either.

Everything reinforced what he had thought before, and made all his little excuses fall to ash. "I really have to get you out of here."

«Naruto, you know I won't leave you as soon as I'm out, right?»

Naruto froze, then collapsed into a sitting position right outside the cage. "But everyone _hates_ you. Or at least they definitely will once they realize what's going on. It's a lot safer if you leave."

Kurama's glare was a lot more effective in person. «And what of you, then? Am I to leave you entirely defenseless?»

"But they won't let you stay!"

«Tough. They don't have a choice. And if they get violent about it, we're _both_ going. Together.»

Naruto gaped. "But-"

«You can always protect Konoha from a distance, if need be. But I'm not losing you because of _their_ rampant stupidity. Besides, only the Hokage need know of my presence until it's frankly too late for anyone else to protest.»

Naruto frowned. There were many, many ways this could potentially go wrong. But he couldn't quite bring himself to protest.

«That isn't what I brought you here to talk about, though.»

He looked up. "It isn't?"

«I'm sure you've noticed _something_ , Naruto. I've taught you better than that. But I doubt you'd come to this conclusion, and I'd rather you know the truth rather than come to any unfortunate ones. I'm sure you've noticed that I've been particularly nice to you in particular, while my opinion of humans in general is still rather lower than yours.»

Naruto tensed.

«I was asleep when it happened. It could have been an enemy jutsu, an accident, or maybe even something you did as a last resort. I don't know. All I know is that one moment I was asleep inside you, and the next, I woke up outside you, all the way back when I was attacking Konoha.

«You have to understand, we were partners then. You had proved yourself to be strong enough to force me to behave even before we were friends, and there was no seal at all. I still thought you were being stubborn and just weren't talking to me when I was attacked. And thinking we were still in the war… I retaliated.»

Naruto suddenly understood, and his eyes widened.

«I could have prevented this. All of this. Your mother would still have died regardless of my involvement. But you could have had a father, a proper one. And he could have made sure that people knew who you _really_ were. You wouldn't have had to grow up with all the hate. But I was too arrogant. Too confident in my own ability. And we _all_ paid for my mistake.»

Naruto's voice was shaky. "I-I forgive you."

«You don't have to, kit.»

"No. I forgive you."

Kurama's eyes looked up from the floor of his cell. Naruto's voice was a lot stronger this time, and his expression was firm. «He would have done a better job, you know. He knew a lot more about sealing, he knew more about hand signs, human physiology… and he loved you, Naruto. More than anything.»

Naruto's voice cracked slightly. "Thanks. And you're right… it would have been nice to meet him. And maybe he _would_ have done a better job, I don't know. But you're here, now. And it's…" He clenched his fist, then forcefully unclenched it. "It's useless to talk about what could have been. Because it _isn't_. And… I'm glad I met you."

There was a long silence.

«...Thank you.»

Naruto took a deep breath. "Thanks for telling me about all this. You didn't have to do that."

«No, I did. We're coming up on some events that I can't prepare you for fully if you don't know what's going on. We can't be taking chances here. There's an enemy that's likely to appear in these Chunin exams that will be able to seal off your access to my chakra because of the nature of the seal.»

"What should I do?"

«Create clones of me, and don't stop. The more of me is out, the better I can protect you. I don't know if I'll be able to outright defeat this person directly, given the rate that you have been going at, and if I tell you to stop making these clones, _stop_ , because your body will need to adjust if things happen too fast, but this is our best chance.»

Naruto nodded firmly. "All right. I should start now?"

Kurama shook his head. «One more thing. Dispel the clone. I want to test something.»

He didn't actually need to be outside for this. A simple thought –

Wait.

"Um, I don't think I can dispel _your_ clone."

«Of course not. He's me. Just crush him. Don't worry, he already knows the plan, and agrees with it.»

Naruto nodded hesitantly. "All right. If you're sure."

It was a lot easier to exit his mind than enter it. And despite his hesitation, he squashed the fox in his pocket, which poofed into red chakra.

Which then seeped right back into his body.

Naruto could hear Kurama's somehow audible sigh of relief. _«_ _Good. That's encouraging. As long as a part of me is in you, I can't disperse._ _»_

_D_ _isperse?_

_«_ _I can't die, but it takes an annoyingly long time to re-form. Time we don't have. Still, you don't have to worry about me leaving. Even if I didn't want to stay near you, I don't want to find out there's a_ _limit on how far away this works._ _»_

_R-_ _right._

_«_ _Like I said, don't worry about it. Now get started on those clones._ _»_

* * *

"Naruto! You were here the whole time? What's with you lately?"

_Should I tell them?_

_«_ _Maybe. Later. Now is not the time._ _»_

"Just a project, don't worry about it."

Sakura looked as if she might protest, but Sasuke nodded. "Watch out for a Konoha ninja in a green jumpsuit. He's a taijutsu expert, but he's strong enough where I don't know how I would fare in a real fight against him."

Naruto's eyes brightened. "Oh, you're talking about Lee? Yeah, he's pretty good."

Sasuke blinked in visible surprise. "You know him? He wasn't in our class at the Academy."

"Yeah, I would often see him training in the early morning. We didn't talk all that much, since his sensei said something like his style wouldn't work well for me, but he complimented me on my own training. Something about being 'youthful,' I don't really remember all that well. But he's definitely really strong, yeah."

Both Sasuke and Sakura looked speculatively over at Lee, who was just entering the room with his team. They had both seen what Naruto could do with the Kyuubi's power. If _he_ said that Lee was strong…

"We should hand in our registration forms, though. They wouldn't let me do it without you two."

Sakura frowned. "Really? I wonder why?"

Kakashi suddenly appeared behind them. "Because just like everything else, the Chunin exams are taken in teams of three. Aside from the final tournament, that is. Before then, if a single one of you fail, the rest of you do, too."

Her eyes lit up. "Like your bell test."

"Precisely."

She gave an embarrassed grin. "I honestly thought that was just you. To know the other villages do that too…"

Kakashi's expression grew serious. "Not all villages value teamwork, Sakura. But all at least recognize the utility of a three-man team."

She nodded seriously, then noticed that Naruto was back to his odd meditation. "Come on, let's get to the registration desk."

The fact that Naruto would pause every few seconds did not escape her notice.


	24. Chapter 23

Naruto stared at the exam paper in front of him, sweating profusely. _What am I supposed to do? I've been_ training _, not_ studying _!_

 _«_ _Does your brain seriously stop working_ _ **every**_ _time you need it, or are you doing this just to annoy me?_ _»_

Naruto spluttered. _Are you even_ looking _at these questions? This is ridiculous! They can't_ possibly _expect…_

His head made a loud **thump** on his desk.

_«_ _I see your brain finally kicked in. Try to do that sooner next time._ _»_

_Ha ha._

Naruto scanned the room discreetly. With a room full of Genin, and an examination meant to test information gathering, there must be a few plants that actually knew the answers from the start. If the examiners were _really_ smart, those people would also be Genin, and therefore harder to spot, but that might give them an advantage at future exams, so they would likely be Chunin.

_Aha. There._

He only needed one, after all.

Now to actually get the information. A crowded examination wasn't the _worst_ place to sneak through, but it was pretty low, considering everyone was sitting in rows. So shadow clones were out of the question. He only knew about physical stealth, not any particular stealth jutsu.

_«_ _They wouldn't be very useful to you right now, anyway. You can't suppress your chakra enough for them to have much of an effect._ _»_

His had drifted to his equipment pouch, where Kurama had grown to fill the palm of his hand.

_«Interesting_ _idea. Good one, too. I have a direct line of communication._ _»_

_A_ _nd you're a lot smaller than my clones._

Naruto already had plans for his own clones, though. Kurama had always taught him that the less he relied on his fuzzy friend, the better he would be in the long run.

He _definitely_ didn't use those words, though. Those words stayed deeply in his subconscious where they wouldn't result in a month of sadistic retaliation.

_«_ _All right, I have a good view of things. So, for question one–_ _»_

* * *

Naruto finished with the exam in record time.

_«_ _You do realize that I will expect you to solve some of these on your own in the future, right?_ _»_

_W_ _hat?!_

_«_ _Not the stupid physics problems. You learn better with practice. I mean the ciphers and strategy questions. If you_ are _going to be promoted, you need to learn these things._ _»_

 _S_ _o this_ was _a real test? And I failed?_

_«_ _It was a little of both. They don't expect Genin to have the answers to all nine questions, and neither do they expect a Genin to have perfect information gathering ability._ _»_

Naruto nodded. They already had seen quite a few counts of points being docked for cheating, and even a few teams expelled because they were so bad at it.

He had to respect the chief examiner, though. Morino Ibiki. His glare was enough to keep even the rowdiest and most arrogant Genin in line, and barely had to do even that. Not to mention the tenth question.

It would have even worked at intimidating him if Kurama hadn't taught him extensively about inter-village affairs. Konoha Genin would definitely think he had the authority to bar him from future exams, and even foreign ninja didn't seem like they were aware enough to realize that while they had the authority to administer the test, and issue recommendations, it was ultimately up to individual villages to decide who graduated. After all, a hostile village could otherwise block foreign Genin from graduating at all otherwise. The only real reason to host an exam would be to show your military power even among the weakest members. (The Jounin trials were kept secret for obvious reasons.)

He discreetly monitored Sakura and Sasuke, though. Sakura in particular looked nervous, but gritted her teeth and seemed to gather a certain stubbornness to continue.

Interestingly, the first "team" to give up included the Chunin Naruto copied from. And after that, more and more people seemed to lose their nerve.

_«_ _Do you want to know what happened last time?_ _»_

_H_ _m?_

There was a chuckle from inside his head. _«_ _You made this giant rallying speech about not quitting and_ completely _ruined the tense atmosphere._ _»_

Naruto frowned. _Should I do that? A lot of people are leaving._

 _«_ _Of course not. I mean, last time it kept Sakura from giving up, not that you noticed. But it kept a lot of people in that should_ not _have made it to the next test. Less people will die that way. And while_ I _certainly don't care about the people who did,_ _they might help out minimally_ _if war breaks out._ _»_

Naruto sighed.

_«_ _All right,_ _not all humans are_ _that_ _bad._ _Many of them are even tolerable. But I have a hard time caring about people who hate both of us with a passion._ _»_

"So, everyone who is still here…"

Naruto's head whipped up to Ibiki.

"Good call. So, all fifty-four of you…" He smirked, dropping his hard-line expression completely. "You've just passed the first exam."

_I kind of figured._

_«With my help.»_

_Okay, fine._

Amid various outbursts of confusion and outrage, Naruto just settled back down, making more clones. After more than thirty minutes, the first Kurama had already filled his equipment pouch and was rather cramped, so he was creating a second one in a different pocket. They could be recombined later.

_«Naruto, pay attention. He's going to say something actually important here.»_

He looked up again.

"Of course, anyone who cheated in an obvious or clumsy way failed." And with that, Ibiki removed his forehead protector, and his head covering with it."

Naruto visibly recoiled. Intellectually, he knew what was behind "T&I," or torture and interrogation. It was necessary, so necessary in fact that some concepts were gone over in the Academy. Kurama… expanded on those lessons extensively, to prepare him. But he had never actually seen something like this in person.

Still, he was one of a few unfortunate people in the room who could identify what most of the marks actually were. And how they were administered.

"They failed, because there may be circumstances in which being caught in an act of espionage can cost you more than just your life.

"You pay in ways taken from you little by little, time and time again, with lives hanging in the balance."

Naruto briefly wondered if Ibiki wore the gloves he did for a similar reason.

"In addition, the information you obtain cannot be trusted if you cannot keep your presence secret from the enemy.

"Learn that, and learn it well. If you bring back intelligence from a compromised operation, you are doing your enemies' work for them and putting those you serve in danger.

"That is why the questions were designed the way they were. It was the quickest way of weeding out those who lacked the skills to succeed."

* * *

Naruto thought on that statement throughout the next examiner's flamboyant introduction. It wasn't like Kurama hadn't thought to teach him something similar. Information gathering was one of the Big Important Ninja Things, even though only the basics were taught in the Academy. And knowing the relative reliability of your information was paramount. Jiraiya's lessons were all about that.

But while Kurama could talk to him (and shout at him) for his lessons, he couldn't exactly implant images into his head.

In a lot of ninja situations, you either won, or you were dead. That was easy.

But he couldn't help but think that perhaps Kurama's healing would be detrimental in this particular situation.

It wasn't even the threat of horrible pain that really got to him, though. It was the concrete, physical proof that humans could be just as terrible as Kurama said they were.

Being a ninja wasn't just about getting strong enough or clever enough to beat the enemy. It was about having the willpower to keep them safe, even if that meant you weren't returning home.

* * *

Naruto already was quite familiar with Training Ground #44, otherwise known as the Forest of Death. It was favorite hunting ground when people weren't using it. (That was quite often. It wasn't exactly popular.) At first, it was a Kurama-mandated challenge, but after a while, he started going there on his own. Food always tasted better when you had to work for it.

So after Anko was done trying to intimidate everyone, and started to explain the layout of the grounds, Naruto tapped his teammates on their shoulders and discreetly handed them a paper explaining things and left a clone while he slipped off in a Henge.

He briefly thought about stealing two scrolls early, one of each type to make sure they had the correct combination, but he wasn't sure if the ninja in that covered shed were simple paperwork Genin, or something much more dangerous to rob.

What he _could_ do is slip through the chain link fence as a beetle before the exam started and get prepared properly.

The forest was huge – he'd have to spend several _days_ if he wanted to rig the entire area. Even with his clones. But what he _could_ do is scout a relatively safe path with plenty of forage materials for his team to follow, as well as cover each team as they entered, hopefully getting intelligence on which had the scroll they needed, as well as their relative experience.

And, well, properly focus on getting more of Kurama out of his body without having to worry about people asking what he was doing.

He would stay relatively close to his team, but unless something serious went wrong, his clones would be the only ones visible. He would stay behind, constantly meditating and trying to improve his efficiency.

Giving his shadow clones more chakra wasn't exactly something Naruto had given much priority to. The only jutsu that actually required a lot of chakra to complete was his summoning jutsu, which clones couldn't use for obvious reasons. Or the shadow clone jutsu itself, which was just silly.

Doing so without accidentally getting too determined about it and leaking his will into the technique was a nightmare. But if Kurama was worried about an enemy _during_ the Chuunin exams, and not only was this the perfect time to do this without immediately alerting everyone in the village, it was also the perfect time for someone to attack without village security finding out about it.

But eventually, he got into a rhythm that was surprisingly effective.

_So what's the plan here, other than the obvious?_

There was a long silence, but Kurama eventually responded. _«This is a long shot, but the ninja who shows up in this exam? He causes a lot of trouble for us later. Directly and indirectly. The most immediate of which is putting a seal on that Uchiha teammate of yours. Everybody said that was the main reason why he went insane and betrayed the village, but since all Uchiha I've ever encountered have been insane, I have a different idea about that. Either way, it makes him very annoying in the future.»_

Naruto just barely stopped himself from responding out loud and entirely ruining his stealth. _Wait, Sasuke betrays Konoha?_

_«Shut up, there's a lot more that's more important. Later on, he uses a jutsu, which is later improved, that resurrects imperfect but almost invincible copies of dead ninja. Combined with the actions of another organization, it's really bad news for everyone. Including myself. Killing this guy this early would be great, as at this point, he's not expecting anyone of his level, and will be testing rather than fighting for real.»_

Naruto nodded in acknowledgment, trying to both pay attention to Kurama's words and forming his next clone.

 _«_ _Only problem is, he's a bitch to kill._ _I can do it, but not only would you have to get at_ least _half of me free, but it would likely destroy a good portion of the training grounds, and I_ know _you would get pissy at me for killing comrades._ _»_

Naruto rolled his eyes. _You think?_

 _«Our best chance is to get him to realize that he might be outmatched, and retreat early,_ without _marking the Uchiha. At the same time, we_ really _want to make sure that he doesn't know that I am out of my cage.»_

There was a large sigh. _«_ _That means that you can_ only _send clones into the fight. And only enter if my chakra bomb fails to make him retreat._ _»_

Naruto gave a frustrated groan. _But I don't_ care _about keeping you a secret!_

 _«But I do. If it gets out that I am free, and more than just an illusion, and_ especially _if the Akatsuki get a hold of that information, they will send people to seal me._ You _know that I'm still bound to you, and_ I _know that, but they won't. And you are not ready to fight Akatsuki members. Not yet.»_

_What about the old man? Or Jiraiya?_

_«_ _They'll definitely make a stink about it, certainly. But yes, they can know. Especially Jiraiya, as we'll need to set up chakra blocking seals to conceal my presence._

_«_ _My_ point _is that he must think that you only control my power, and nothing else. We will utilize the element of surprise. I know where he likely will attack, and when it will most likely happen._ _»_

_W_ _hen is that?_

_«_ _About three hours._ Your _job is to get your teammates out of there before they get vaporized. Use that teleportation jutsu._ _»_

"But _that_ needs to stay secret, too!"

_«_ _Which is why chakra writing is important. Never mind. Write the seals backwards, and keep the papers upside-down at all times. Even if the snake bastard doesn't die, at least the evidence will be destroyed._ _»_

Naruto's eyes hardened. "Then I have no time to waste!"


	25. Chapter 24

The two sets of paper for the Hiraishin took very little time to make. Even before Kurama's training, Naruto was taught as far back as the _Academy_ to take in a page of paper verbatim before even trying to process it. So he could recreate the seals with confidence, especially after his training in them. He didn't have to understand anything actually in them. The only slight difficulty was doing everything in reverse. But he could do it, and the test fire with a clone seemed to work perfectly, so he wasn't putting his teammates in danger.

Now, though, especially since they were already set up in the area to ambush from, he was working with full concentration on getting more of Kurama out. His instincts wanted him to set more than this one trap, but setting off traps _before_ the ambush would alert the bastard that someone else was there, and _after_ wouldn't matter, since everything would be pretty much dust.

And it was working. Kurama was half again as tall as he was, and even more encouragingly, Kurama had mentioned that he was compressing himself in order to not be as blindingly obvious. He usually only took that absolutely massive form when he was fighting on his own scale, if he felt like using the intimidation factor, or someone incompetent was controlling him.

The only issue was that it was getting harder and harder. He was getting better at manipulating his own will, and even narrowing down the precise amount of chakra that was his maximum, but that chakra was getting harder to separate, and harder to focus.

He was also getting a little bit dizzy–

_«_ _Naruto! Stop now!_ _»_

Naruto's head jerked up. _I can't stop now! You need to be powerful, and I can't really do much–_

_«_ _The fighting has already started! Hiraishin, now!_ _»_

Naruto shook his head to clear it, alert almost instantly. "Right! Here I go!"

Six clones poofed into existence, each grabbing an appropriate paper, curled into a roll to prevent anyone from reading it.

 _«_ Stealth _clones._ _»_

They all turned into foxes.

 _«_ _Good enough. Get going_ now _._ _»_

All of them ran off, rolls of paper in their mouths, while Kurama started to gather chakra.

As soon as they got into the area Kurama had described, one of the fox clones swore. ‹God damn it, he already got Sasuke.›

And it looked like Sakura wasn't in too good of shape, either. Orochimaru had already marked Sasuke, and it looked like he was getting away. Worse, his clone wasn't there, which meant that there _was_ a limit for how far memories and chakra would travel back to their owner. He hadn't noticed a thing when it had disappeared.

‹NOW!› he screamed. It wasn't in English, but it _definitely_ got Orochimaru's attention, and he paused just long enough for them to transform back, slap the papers down, and flash his teammates away.

* * *

Kurama was _not_ happy. Not because of Naruto, though he'd _like_ to be mad at his instant demand for an attack that needed charging. No, it was because his entire plan was falling apart, and it was mostly his fault for not being quite as observant as he needed to be. It was mostly a lack of practice, if he was honest with himself. He was the one that could detect emotional auras, and Naruto was the one with the eyes. And they had each other's backs. Or back, singular, since they were always together.

So despite being half out, and therefore just as strong as when he was with Naruto the first time, his chakra bomb was incomplete. Perfectly fine enough for most opponents, especially the relatively unprepared ones, but not enough to entirely vaporize Orochimaru.

Which meant as long as he still had chakra, he could use that stupid jutsu to regenerate himself.

Of course, the bomb being smaller might be considered something _good_ for Naruto, since it means it was less likely that another Konoha ninja got caught at the edge of the blast, but it was so _close_!

Sasuke still had that stupid mark that would make him even _more_ stupid than other Uchiha, and Orochimaru wouldn't even die.

At least his expression after regeneration was clear enough – his invasion plan was almost certainly off.

But before leaving, the Sannin paused. "Jinchuuriki can't make Tailed Beast bombs."

Kurama frowned. Yes they could. As long as everyone involved was working in harmony…

 _But_ he _doesn't know that. Stupid bastard._

He immediately started to charge another attack. But it wasn't going to be enough. There was a clear path along the previous attack, and a huge crater. Orochimaru knew where they were.

Orochimaru took one look at Kurama, glanced significantly at Naruto who was most certainly _separate_ , and vanished fast enough that he was most certainly not prepared to follow.

Kurama gritted his teeth in anger, purposefully letting the gathered chakra explode in his mouth. It was painful, but he deserved it for making a plan more worthy of Naruto than the greatest of the Tailed Beasts. It had been a huge risk, and he didn't have Naruto's luck. He lost, and lost _badly_.

The Third Hokage appeared in a swirl of leaves, and paled at the sight of Kurama, now at the edge of the crater he created.

«Don't worry, old man, I'm not here to destroy anything. Except for pretentious snake bastards, perhaps.»

Hiruzen immediately entered a battle stance.

«He already left, by the way.»

"Where's Naruto?" The question came from two sources, one considerably more panicked than the other. Jiraiya had arrived, fast enough to need to catch his breath.

"Right here!" Naruto waved as he walked out from behind the fox.

Jiraiya gaped. "What did you _do_?"

Naruto smirked. "Well, _technically_ speaking, Kurama here's just a shadow clone."

A tail whacked him lightly on the back of the head, causing brief panic among the twitchy ninja and a more genuine smile from Naruto. "It's true! Not my fault the Shadow Clone jutsu was probably based on you."

Jiraiya took a deep breath. "So you figured it out, did you? I thought I told you not to try any seals I hadn't approved yet."

Naruto shrugged. "Found a way to do it without seals. Like I said, shadow clone jutsu. Just, like, with a lot of stuff that Kurama taught me about being somebody made of chakra."

Neither Jiraiya nor the Hokage looked particularly happy, but to Naruto's delight, neither of them looked like they were going to force Naruto to do anything drastic to keep Kurama out.

«We have a problem. That snake bastard saw me. He also got away.»

Naruto winced. "Sorry. But he was already starting to leave."

«Not your fault, kit. But we have to be prepared for the Akatsuki now, and that _isn't_ going to be easy.»

Jiraiya didn't know exactly when and _how_ either Naruto or the Kyuubi found out about the Akatsuki, least of all their goals, but he did have important information. "My sources say that Orochimaru has left the Akatsuki."

«He was expelled for attacking a member, yes. But his greed for the Sharingan has already been fulfilled.»

Jiraiya frowned, remembering the state that Sasuke had been in when he had appeared in front of him, and the cause for that state.

«Besides, what better bargaining chip is there than the strongest of the Tailed Beasts, apparently entirely free and ready for capture?» Sarcasm was practically dripping from his mouth.

Hiruzen caught the relevant detail. "Apparently free?"

Naruto answered for him. "His freedom is a… work in progress. I didn't have enough time to get all of him out. Speaking of…"

He put his hands into a seal, but Kurama whacked him with a tail. Physical forms were so much more useful. «And you _won't_ do any more until we figure out what those side effects mean.»

"Side effects?" Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and to their surprise, Naruto, asked at the same time.

Kurama sighed. «You didn't notice. Of course you didn't notice. Your chakra control was gone to crap, you were almost ready to pass out, and you _didn't notice_?»

Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Um, oops?"

He decided that now might be the time to put an optimistic spin on things, when there were those that might make his life very difficult otherwise. «You've done a lot today, Naruto. Perhaps your body just needs to adjust properly.» He turned back to the two humans. Even in his rather compressed form, he was still at least tall enough that he had to look downwards. «I am not quite in as much danger as the Akatsuki might believe. I do not plan to be fully released.»

"Why?"

«Simply put, it means that I cannot be controlled or captured by someone _else_. If I am dispersed, or disperse _myself,_ I return to Naruto as long as part of my chakra remains.»

Jiraiya frowned. "If that is your plan this entire time, why separate further?"

«Because freedom was not my ultimate goal. Frankly, Naruto already _has_ extraordinary power. He had to have, in order to contain _me_. Removing myself only ensures that he is able to reach that potential.»

"Why do you care about Naruto so much?"

Kurama snorted. «Because I felt like it. Why does it matter?»

"Because _I_ care about Naruto, fox! What do you think?"

Kurama's glare and burst of killing intent reminded Jiraiya of exactly who he was talking to, and he physically recoiled.

«Fine. It's because Naruto is the first human that showed that he could be more than just another squabbling insect that collapses their own den for a scrap of food. Happy?»

Jiraiya took a deep breath to calm himself, and his sensei put a hand on his shoulder as he looked up at Kurama with a different perspective. The Hokage was old, and had seen quite a lot of human behavior himself. Naruto had told him the Kyuubi was a person, and he had given Naruto the benefit of the doubt, but it had never quite occurred to him what that meant with the proper context. If the Tailed Beasts were not simple natural calamities to be tamed and controlled, it didn't just mean that they were responsible for their actions, it meant that the villages were responsible for what they did to the Tailed Beasts as well.

In that light, Kurama's attack on the village would have been understandable even if Naruto _hadn't_ mentioned that he had been controlled. Konoha had been responsible for _all_ the original sealings. Not to mention what everyone did afterwards.

"You'll have to be hidden. Not imprisoned, of course, as long as you can keep your excursions stealthy."

«That was the plan, yes. Until the Akatsuki found out anyway, that is.»

The Hokage shook his head. "No, I'm afraid it's simpler than that. Fundamentally, if more than a few key ninja knew of your existence, your _free_ existence, I would have a village-wide riot on my hands."

«Ah, so only a little worse than Naruto, then.»

Hiruzen winced.

«Not your fault most humans are panicky idiots. You have done an… acceptable job.»

"Thank you, I suppose."

«Regardless, you have a point. I will be expanding Naruto's apartment. Jiraiya, I expect you to either teach Naruto, or place chakra masking seals on the borders.»

Both of them looked at him oddly.

«Nobody lives on the same _floor_ as Naruto. Might as well use the spare wood. And he needs the room if I'm going to be living with him.»

Hiruzen felt suddenly guilty for not checking up on Naruto nearly as often as he should. Jiraiya just looked vaguely sad, and nodded his assent at his 'request.'

"What are we going to do about the Akatsuki, though? I know something about their members, and I do not think Konoha could withstand a coordinated assault. Even with _you_ on our side–"

«On _Naruto's_ side.»

"Same thing, in this case."

Kurama nodded, conceding the point. Villagers aside, those in power consistently put Naruto first, sometimes against sense. He could appreciate that.

"I don't think we would fare well in direct battle. Do either of you have any plans?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "You would know more about their abilities than I."

Kurama took a deep breath. «Not a plan that I wanted to use, no. And even then, I am not entirely sure that there will be enough time. But there might be a way to make Naruto a Sage.»

"There is such thing as a fox sage, then?"

Jiraiya waved him off. "All summon animals have a method, whether they remember it or not. But that doesn't _matter_ , because Naruto is _far_ too young! Even _I_ can't get it done perfectly, and I have _decades_ of experience. And toads are the _easiest_ to learn from. Their oil is entirely unique."

«Regardless, as soon as the Akatsuki realize that they cannot seal me the way I am, they will go after Naruto next.»

"He might _die_!"

«And he _will_ die if he is not yet ready. Besides, what better place for Naruto to hide than a place that has not been set foot in since the time of the First Hokage?»

"Well, technically, I went there when I got the summoning contract. What's a Sage, though?"

«I'll tell you later. Let me finish here.»

Jiraiya sighed. "You really think he's ready?"

Actually, no, he did not. Normally the fox style of sage was entirely incompatible with humans. Which was fortunate, otherwise Madara would have been even more insufferable than he already was. He was talented enough otherwise to master it like Hashirama did.

But he had been pondering the side effects that Naruto had been experiencing. They were not entirely consistent with chakra shock, usually only experienced by ninja as chakra exhaustion. And the fact that one of the other humans he respected, Gaara, retained some of Shukaku's powers, even without a trace of him in his body.

It was a long shot, but he had messed up, and long shots were all he had.

«He has to be.»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, things can start to pick up. It is rather difficult to adapt the entire Naruto plotline into a single story without bloat, but I took one problem I had (Naruto has more training and is more powerful than he should be, esp. with the full Kurama on his side) and another problem (the Naruto plotline takes too long) and made them cancel each other out, with the added benefit of completely derailing the original plotline so that I can start formulating something more unique in general.


	26. Chapter 25

Naruto was disappointed that getting Sasuke and Sakura out of there meant that their chances at becoming Chunin were automatically forfeit, but Kurama reminded him that in actual battle situations, rank only mattered when it came to leadership. You were used where your talents lay, no exception. Rank only affected what missions you got in peacetime, where more international treaties applied.

That only brought up the more subtle dread that almost certainly in the near future, they would be at war, but now that he thought of it, Kurama's almost frantic training wasn't to get him to be Hokage. That didn't really have a time limit. No, he was preparing him for _this_ instead.

The way Orochimaru had risen from his own corpse... even though he hadn't been that close to see any of the grisly detail, it still gave him shivers.

Right now, though, they were doing... other things. More cheerful things, like moving Kurama in with him in the physical sense. They had just finished expanding Naruto's apartment (it was actually just a matter of knocking down the walls that could reasonably be removed without collapsing the roof, but "expanding" sounded better). And with Jiraiya's seals in place, and a large (and rather expensive) cushion for Kurama to sit on, they could finally get him actually in there.

To his relief, Hiraishin actually worked, and he _didn't_ lose all of his work in bringing him out to begin with.

But now that everything was done, there was finally a moment to sit down and talk.

"So what's a Sage?"

«Before I answer that, I suppose I should tell you more about so-called ‹summon animals.› Do you know why that they take chakra as payment for their services?»

Naruto frowned. "I guess I didn't really think about it that much. It's just so they don't get too tired fighting, right?"

«Ninja don't use something unless it is beneficial to them. More importantly, that it gives something that they cannot provide otherwise. The Summoning Jutsu is very costly chakra-wise. Why not use that chakra for something like a high-power justu instead? Unless the summoned animal has more knowledge and experience, there is little reason to do so, if the chakra was simply to power the summon's techniques directly. Not efficient, either, as it has to power the transportation as well.»

"What _is_ it used for, then?"

«Simple. Most intelligent creatures do not have chakra. Only their own life energy. But they can _control_ chakra, if it is given to them. The combination of the two energies can create unique effects that ninja cannot produce with their own manipulation.»

"But I thought chakra _was_ life energy."

Kurama shrugged, shifting a tail so Naruto had enough room next to him to sit comfortably, rather than just lean awkwardly at the edge. «For humans, maybe. Don't ask me how that happened, it was before I was born. The point is, that is the main reason that summons have a time limit depending on the chakra given.»

"What about Sages, then?"

«I was getting to that. In the most basic of terms, a Sage is one who learns how to gather nature energy from around them. It is the energy of life. Humans called it youki. Probably because they couldn't use it themselves. It exists everywhere, and is surprisingly powerful when used correctly, though only youkai, the so-called summoning animals, use it in techniques like ninja do. All the tribes have their own secret methods, just as the villages have their secret techniques. For example, the Toads are particularly famous for producing human sages, as well as some techniques that allow for some truly rapid gathering of energy.»

"Human sages? Are they different? I mean, that kinda matters for me."

«Technically, no. The animal sages are able to get chakra by being summoned, and along with their natural energy gathering skills, are able to multiply their power that way, but human sages already have their own chakra, so there is no real functional difference in power. They simply end up in more legends, as it is significantly harder for a human to become a Sage in the first place.»

"Why is that?"

«Simple. They have chakra, not natural energy, and need that to function. The gathered energy is foreign. So they have to learn both gathering and using the two energies at once, two disciplines that are hard on their own. Chakra systems and natural energy systems have a fundamentally different structure.»

Naruto sighed. "And I have to learn, don't I? I can't even get chakra writing down."

«I have a feeling you would have more success now. There is a second inconvenience, though, that just might cancel both those problems out.»

"What's that?"

«You see, it's well documented that gathering too much nature energy is dangerous for a human, as their bodies are not designed for it, and often transform, with usually disastrous results. Not only that, but fox sages have, well... our method has never been exactly designed for humans. Not our specialty.»

"That's supposed to make me feel _better_?"

«I've also been thinking about the side effects you started to get near the end there with pulling me out. I may not have the nature energy I once did, but when I was given chakra, it still flows in the same way.»

Naruto frowned. Kurama said he was a summon, and that his chakra was unnatural, but never in this detail. He certainly hadn't heard of 'nature energy' before. "What are you saying?"

«I'm saying that there's a very good chance that when you adapted to be able to hold me, you adapted a little further than that. You might be able to hold nature energy a little easier than most.»

" _Might?_ "

«Trust me, I don't like this risk, either. If there was another way, I'd take that.»

Naruto sighed, remembering the conversation in the forest. "All right, I get it. So how do I gather this nature energy?"

«Don't know, myself. We have to go to the foxes and hope that a Sage is still alive. Otherwise we have a much bigger problem.»

"Oh." It was hard to remember that Kurama wasn't the boss fox when he left.

«First, though, we have to get as much of me out of you as possible. I'm afraid that might be less than we'd hoped, but the more control you have, the more likely this will work, and I'm not going to take any unnecessary chances.»

* * *

Kurama's prediction turned out to be accurate. Naruto didn't have as good of a gauge as the fox himself might, as he only had his size to look at, but he was barely any bigger before what Kurama called "chakra confusion" set in with a vengeance. Any more and he might actually start having _worse_ control, and that was the opposite of what they wanted.

"So what do I do now?"

«Perform the Summoning jutsu. Use a large chunk of your chakra. We might get a Sage. Or we might get someone else. Regardless, we can ask them to go back and summon you back to the realm if necessary. The worst case is that there is no such Sage, and we're stuck figuring things out on our own.»

"All right." Naruto jumped off the cushion and performed the jutsu in the middle of his now much cleaner apartment floor.

Which was a really stupid idea, but Kurama felt he really should have known better to give Naruto an instruction without clarifying properly. He forgot that Naruto hadn't really seen any of the truly massive toad summons. And while foxes could range in all sorts of sizes, regardless of tail count and actual power, a lot of the more powerful ones were quite large.

So it was with great relief that the puff of smoke was only about the size of Naruto himself and a five-tailed white vixen walked out rather than a two-story monstrosity that would bring down the entire village onto them.

Naruto, of course, was as tactless as ever. ‹Hi! Nice to meet you! What's your name?›

Fortunately, she didn't seem to take offense, and smiled instead. Naruto got all the luck. "I was wondering when you might summon me. Your destiny is certainly an interesting one."

 _It certainly is,_ Kurama thought to himself.

Naruto just looked confused. ‹What?›

"Your use of our language is commendable, even more so that you are able to do so in your current form, but it is unnecessary."

 _Plus your pronunciation is_ terrible _as a human._ Kurama added. _Still, she likes you,_ and _she is a seer. And she doesn't cringe while looking at you. All very good signs for our plan._

"I hear you gave Fukuda his name."

Naruto got a little nervous. "Was I supposed to do that?"

She chuckled. "It was not the traditional time, no, but it caused no harm. He likes the name. Mine is Hikari, since you have asked."

He smiled. "I'm Naruto!"

"I know," she said with a hint of amusement. "You came to me for aid in Sage training."

Kurama spoke for the first time. «Will it succeed?»

"Yes, he is compatible. However, he will not find youki on his own within the time necessary."

"What do I do then?"

"I must infuse the energy into you myself."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

She looked at him carefully. "It will not be a pleasant experience. I suggest that we either retire to the woods, or you silence this room properly. Any interruptions will result in your likely death."

Naruto gulped. "Oh."

Kurama was equally uncomfortable. He had been around quite a lot of humans, and their pain tolerance was quite a lot lower than most other animals, and most certainly foxes. Naruto wasn't most ninja, but if a fox said something was 'not a pleasant experience' it was likely on par with some of the worst of human tortures.

But he wasn't about to stop their only chance at success, and as expected, Naruto's face hardened, he grit his teeth, and agreed.

"This procedure is delicate. It will be of great help if you were to remain still during the operation."

Kurama got up. «Right. Naruto, get your ninja wire. The strong stuff. And start placing seals. I'll get your bed.»

* * *

"Did you really have to use your mouth?" Naruto grumbled. "I have to sleep on that."

«Quit your complaining.»

"And seriously. Did you have to get rid of the mattress before tying me on here?"

« _Naruto!_ Do you even understand the kind of pain you're about to be in?»

Naruto gulped. He had seen enough of his teacher and friend's expressions over the last three minutes. "Yeah. I just was trying not to think about it."

«Sorry.» Kurama's response was oddly subdued, and lacked any of the usual sarcasm that accompanied his apologies.

"Just… stay close, all right?"

He nodded.

Hikari moved to the side of the bed so smoothly she might have floated. Her calm nature might have helped Naruto's state of mind, but it was actually the difference between her attitude and Kurama's that made him nervous.

"Are you ready, Naruto?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then I will begin."

There was no warm-up. There was no warning other than her stated declaration. There was simply pain. It started in his head and only spread from there, down his spine and into his stomach before lancing into his heart.

It wasn't like any other pain. If he stabbed himself with a kunai, there'd be a spike of intense pain, sure, but it would be quickly dulled. His body would inform him about the injury in a way he couldn't ignore, then it would take a backseat, with only a persistent reminder that the injury was still there and should be taken care of soon.

This was something else entirely. If there was a jutsu designed to keep a ninja at the spiking level of pain at all times, this is what he would imagine it would feel like. There was no respite, there was no hope of relief, there was no fluctuation. There was only simple pain–

"Done."

And then it stopped, just as abruptly.

Okay, maybe not completely. He still felt like utter crap, and there wasn't a part of his body that didn't feel sore. But it was like he trained every muscle on his body for eight hours, not like he was dipped in lava while drinking it at the same time.

‹Did–› Naruto coughed, wincing. "Did it work?"

Hikari smiled lightly and nodded. "Yes, it was a success. Congratulations, you now hold both natural energy and chakra."

* * *

Kurama, who had been busy ripping out the large amounts of ninja wire with his claws, froze suddenly.

She looked at him. "You are no longer bound by our laws, but you do understand why this must remain a secret among us?"

«I can still be summoned. I will keep our secrets.»

For the first time, Hikari appeared surprised. "I see. I had assumed your contract had been broken."

«I thought it was as well. It was not. From what I can tell, none of the Nine broke contract, even with the… changes. But was what you said true? He has youki of his own?»

Naruto finally felt okay enough to sit up, and he barely had started to check himself over before he was frowning. "Where are my ears?"

That completely derailed Kurama's line of thought.

"Oh, there they are."

He rolled his eyes. Naruto was just being his usual self.

"Why do I have fox ears?"

Okay, maybe not.

"Do I have a _tail_?"

Kurama was about to round on Hikari when she answered. "It is simple. In order to gather youki, you must sense it. In order to sense it, you must have it. That is the reason why sages are so rare."

«Half human, half fox… why have I not seen this before if you have the knowledge?»

"It has a 95% mortality rate."

« _ **What?**_ »

"That is a better rate than humans attempting other methods of becoming a Sage. Besides, with you bound to him, the rate was lowered to a mere 10 percent."

Kurama forced his anger down. It was already done.

"Besides, this was the best option out of the alternatives."

Of course it was. But it would have been nice to know the risks before.

Though he wasn't quite sure he could have managed to endure the screams if he actually _did_ know about them.

«Thank you,» he managed to grind out with some semblance of politeness. «Is there anything else you need to do?»

"Nothing that you cannot provide yourself. Good day." She disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Kurama sighed. He _really_ wanted to stay angry, but if what she had said was actually true… well, this might actually make up for his mistake of getting Akatsuki attention almost three years too early.

Last time, with shadow clones and the ability to gather natural energy, he had a huge advantage in battle, as the combination of the two energies were not only powerful, but circumvented many of the "screw you, I'm invincible" jutsu types that were so annoying to deal with.

But if he had an actual source of that energy… well, that was another matter entirely. He would have the _natural_ ability to use Sage moves, even without preparation. Even if that pool was small, even _having_ a pool meant that it could be trained. And with permanent access, that meant that he could do more than just enhance chakra-based jutsu. He could learn natural techniques as well, and enhance those with chakra.

"Why do I have a _tail?_ "

Kurama turned. Naruto's hands were absently loosening rolls of ninja wire from his legs, but his head was tracking a grey appendage that was moving erratically in front of it. Occasionally, one of his ears would flick, which messed with his ninja instincts, and his head would whip around to look at nothing.

He winced. If the kit actually had been young for a human, this wouldn't have been a problem. The brain was a malleable thing, and Naruto in general was not one to dig his heels in with changes to the usual routine. Quite the opposite.

But they had been training almost every day for years, getting intimately familiar with his body. Subtle, natural growth was one thing. Relocating and changing the shape of facial features? Growing an an appendage that was a weak point on humans? Not remotely the same.

He didn't even try to calm him down. He wasn't good at it, and he wasn't about to learn now. Naruto was the one that always calmed _him_ down. But he did have vague memories of something that might help. So he ripped the last bits of wire that bound him to the bed, and picked him up by the back of his red outer coat.

He didn't protest, which was a good sign. Or a bad one. Kurama wasn't sure. His memory from that far back wasn't very good.

But when he brought him over to the cushion, placed him in the middle, and curled around the boy, it wasn't long for his breathing to slow down, his muscles to relax, and finally, his eyes to fall closed.

Tomorrow. They could deal with all that tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a twist!
> 
> Well, this is probably going to be the most controversial one.
> 
> But seriously, it works with my ultimate plan. And I also find that I write far better when I have new things to make up. This all sprang from the idea, "What if all Sage Modes weren't equal?" after I watched the episode that Snake Sage Mode was introduced (I had assumed before that it was unique to the toads). This ability specifically may seem a little OP, but rest assured. Not only will he have to learn a whole lot to be truly effective with it, but Madara is going to be a beast (and an actually smart ninja), and Naruto isn't hundreds of years old, or even properly an adult by the time they'll be fighting. This is just a relative equalizer that doesn't rely on time limits or other things of that nature. He isn't going to be stomping his way through any of his battles. One of my original grievances about the Naruto series is the way that strategy just went out the window because of power. Or hax.
> 
> Anyway, the real issue with chapter-by-chapter release dates (which is required for proper reader engagement on fanfiction sites) is that true editing, where I go and make sure everything is a cohesive entity, and the themes are consistent, etc, is not really possible unless I write the entire thing first, then release chapter by chapter afterwards. And that means no reader feedback is possible. Which is another problem.
> 
> For example, I know this chapter in particular subtly breaks something I established earlier, when I only had a vague idea of what I was going to do, and didn't have a concrete plan. But I'm not going to fix that now, I'm going to wait until I finish the story first. If I started editing previous chapters before finishing the story, I'd never be done, and I'd leave a lot of people who really don't care all that much about perfect consistency waiting in vain for new material. I do plan on going through afterwards and crafting this into a much better story overall later.
> 
> For those of you that are disappointed by the new direction, sorry. For those that like it, great! I do like the plans I've come up with. (Though both sides should keep in mind that I have specific plans to keep Naruto free from romantic involvement. I'm not normally anti-romance, but a romantic relationship would kind of throw a wrench into things in ways I don't want.)


End file.
